Database-centric architecture - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Database-centric architecture or data-centric architecture has several distinct meanings, generally relating to software architecture

Software architecture

The software architecture of a system is the set of structures needed to reason about the system, which comprise software elements, relations among them, and properties of both...

s in which database

Database

A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...

s play a crucial role. Often this description is meant to contrast the design to an alternative approach. For example, the characterization of an architecture as "database-centric" may mean any combination of the following:

using a standard, general-purpose relational database management system
Relational database management system
A relational database management system is a database management system that is based on the relational model as introduced by E. F. Codd. Most popular databases currently in use are based on the relational database model....

, as opposed to customized in-memory or file
Computer file
A computer file is a block of arbitrary information, or resource for storing information, which is available to a computer program and is usually based on some kind of durable storage. A file is durable in the sense that it remains available for programs to use after the current program has finished...

-based data structures and access method
Access method
An access method is a function of a mainframe operating system that enables access to data on disk, tape or other external devices. They were introduced in 1963 in IBM OS/360 operating system...

s. With the evolution of sophisticated DBMS
Database management system
A database management system is a software package with computer programs that control the creation, maintenance, and use of a database. It allows organizations to conveniently develop databases for various applications by database administrators and other specialists. A database is an integrated...

software, much of which is either free or included with the operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...

, application developers have become increasingly reliant on standard database tools, especially for the sake of rapid application development
Rapid application development
Rapid application development is a software development methodology that uses minimal planning in favor of rapid prototyping. The "planning" of software developed using RAD is interleaved with writing the software itself...

.

using dynamic, table
Table (database)
In relational databases and flat file databases, a table is a set of data elements that is organized using a model of vertical columns and horizontal rows. A table has a specified number of columns, but can have any number of rows...

-driven logic, as opposed to logic embodied in previously compiled program
Computer program
A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...

s. The use of table-driven logic, i.e. behavior that is heavily dictated by the contents of a database, allows programs to be simpler and more flexible. This capability is a central feature of dynamic programming language
Dynamic programming language
Dynamic programming language is a term used broadly in computer science to describe a class of high-level programming languages that execute at runtime many common behaviors that other languages might perform during compilation, if at all...

s. See also control table
Control table
Control tables are tables that control the program flow or play a major part in program control. There are no rigid rules concerning the structure or content of a control table - its only qualifying attribute is its ability to direct program flow in some way through its 'execution' by an associated...

s for tables that are normally coded and embedded within programs as data structures (i.e. not compiled statements) but could equally be read in from a flat file, database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...

or even retrieved from a spreadsheet
Spreadsheet
A spreadsheet is a computer application that simulates a paper accounting worksheet. It displays multiple cells usually in a two-dimensional matrix or grid consisting of rows and columns. Each cell contains alphanumeric text, numeric values or formulas...

.

using stored procedure
Stored procedure
A stored procedure is a subroutine available to applications that access a relational database system. A stored procedure is actually stored in the database data dictionary.Typical uses for stored procedures include data validation or access control mechanisms...

s that run on database server
Database server
A database server is a computer program that provides database services to other computer programs or computers, as defined by the client–server model. The term may also refer to a computer dedicated to running such a program...

s, as opposed to greater reliance on logic running in middle-tier application server
Application server
An application server is a software framework that provides an environment in which applications can run, no matter what the applications are or what they do...

s in a multi-tier architecture. The extent to which business logic
Business logic
Business logic, or domain logic, is a non-technical term generally used to describe the functional algorithms that handle information exchange between a database and a user interface.- Scope of business logic :Business logic:...

should be placed at the back-end versus another tier is a subject of ongoing debate. For example, Toon Koppelaars presents a detailed analysis of alternative Oracle-based
Oracle Database
The Oracle Database is an object-relational database management system produced and marketed by Oracle Corporation....

architectures that vary in the placement of business logic, concluding that a database-centric approach has practical advantages from the standpoint of ease of development and maintainability.

using a shared database as the basis for communicating between parallel processes
Parallel computing
Parallel computing is a form of computation in which many calculations are carried out simultaneously, operating on the principle that large problems can often be divided into smaller ones, which are then solved concurrently . There are several different forms of parallel computing: bit-level,...

in distributed computing
Distributed computing
Distributed computing is a field of computer science that studies distributed systems. A distributed system consists of multiple autonomous computers that communicate through a computer network. The computers interact with each other in order to achieve a common goal...

applications, as opposed to direct inter-process communication
Inter-process communication
In computing, Inter-process communication is a set of methods for the exchange of data among multiple threads in one or more processes. Processes may be running on one or more computers connected by a network. IPC methods are divided into methods for message passing, synchronization, shared...

via message passing
Message passing
Message passing in computer science is a form of communication used in parallel computing, object-oriented programming, and interprocess communication. In this model, processes or objects can send and receive messages to other processes...

functions and message-oriented middleware
Message-oriented middleware
Message-oriented middleware is software or hardware infrastructure supporting sending and receiving messages between distributed systems. MOM allows application modules to be distributed over heterogeneous platforms and reduces the complexity of developing applications that span multiple...

. A potential benefit of database-centric architecture in distributed application
Distributed application
-Introduction:Where classic software systems of the past century were mostly based on Client–server models and Client-centric application development, both ultimately run on one single computer, be it the client computer or the server....

s is that it simplifies the design by utilizing DBMS-provided transaction processing
Transaction processing
In computer science, transaction processing is information processing that is divided into individual, indivisible operations, called transactions. Each transaction must succeed or fail as a complete unit; it cannot remain in an intermediate state...

and indexing
Index (database)
A database index is a data structure that improves the speed of data retrieval operations on a database table at the cost of slower writes and increased storage space...

to achieve a high degree of reliability, performance, and capacity. For example, Base One describes a database-centric distributed computing architecture for grid
Grid computing
Grid computing is a term referring to the combination of computer resources from multiple administrative domains to reach a common goal. The grid can be thought of as a distributed system with non-interactive workloads that involve a large number of files...

and cluster computing, and explains how this design provides enhanced security, fault-tolerance, and scalability
Scalability
In electronics scalability is the ability of a system, network, or process, to handle growing amount of work in a graceful manner or its ability to be enlarged to accommodate that growth...

.

See also