Advantages of the Relational Model

The Relational Model has survived through the years, though there are those who are always trying to construct a more efficient way, it has managed to come out the victor thus far. One reason may be due to the structure it is big enough to be worthy of optimizing.

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Another notable reason is that the relational operations work on sets of data objects, this seems to make it a reasonably adequate model for remote access. Finally, it is a clean model and concise model that does not encourage design extravagance, or phrased as, “design cuteness.”

Some prefer the clean and simple style that the Relational Model offers, they can easily do with out colorful shapes and stylish layouts, instead wanting nothing more then the clear cut facts and relevant information.

Here are a few of the more obvious and noted advantages to the Relational Model:

• Allows for Data Independence. This helps to provide a sharp and clear boundary between the logical and physical aspects of database management.
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• Simplicity. This provides a more simple structure than those that were being before it. A simple structure that is easy to communicate to users and programmers and a wide variety of users in an enterprise can interact with a simple model.
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• A good theoretical background. This means that it provides a theoretical background for database management field.

Do not be surprised to find that these are nearly the very same advantages that Dr. Codd listed in the debut of this model. It is obvious that he was right, and these advantages have been restated again and again since the first publication on his report.

There has been no other model brought into view that has had the advantages of the Relational Model, though there have been hybrids of the model, some of which we will discuss in later articles.

The Relational Model versus Earlier Models

We began with the Hierarchical Model, this model allowed us to distribute our data in terms of relation, some what like that of a hierarchy, it showed a parent/child type of relation. It is one big down fall being that of the fact that each “child” could only have one parent, but a parent could have many children.

This model served us well in its time of glory, and sure there are still systems using it now, though trusting their more hefty loads of data to better equipped models.

Following the Hierarchical Model we investigated the Network Model. This model was closely kin to the Hierarchical Model in that it to allow for a parent/child view of data, its main advantage over the previous model being that it allowed for a many-to-many relationship between data sets.

Still the data had to be predefined. Though some forms of this model are still used today, it has become some what obsolete.

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Finally we come to our current model. The Relational Model. Like those before it, it to expresses the relationships between data, only it allows for larger input and does not have to be predefined. This model allows users to record and relate large amounts of data.

This model also allows for multi-level relationships between data sets, meaning they can be related in many ways, or even only one way. It is easy to understand how this model has managed to out live those that came shortly before it. It is versatile, simple, clean in structure, and applicable to nearly every type of data we use.

First Page: Relational Model