Data Abstraction

By Navdeep Kaur
Assistant Professor
Computer Science Department
 Data Abstraction

By Navdeep Kaur
Assistant Professor
Computer Science Department
Data Abstraction
 Data Abstraction
Data Abstraction
Data Abstraction refers to the process of hiding
irrelevant details from the user
 
 Data Abstraction Example
 
Levels of Data Base Abstraction
 Levels Data Base Abstraction
Internal Level: This is the lowest level of data
abstraction
It tells us how the data is actually stored in
memory
 Levels Data Base Abstraction

Conceptual or Logical Level:

This level tells how the data is structured
We have different data models by which we can
structure the data
 Levels Data Base Abstraction
External or View level: This is the highest level
of abstraction
Only a part of the actual database is viewed by
the users
 Internal Level
Internal Level/Schema
The internal schema defines the physical storage structure of the
database
The internal schema is a very low-level representation of the
entire database
Facts about Internal schema:
 The internal schema is the lowest level of data abstraction
 Like the actual storage of the data on the disk in the form of
records
 The internal view tells us what data is stored in the database
and how?
 Conceptual Level
Conceptual Schema/Level
 This schema hides information about the physical storage
structures
 This logical level comes between the user level and physical
storage view
Facts about Conceptual schema:
Defines all database entities, their attributes, and their
relationships
 External Level
External Schema/Level
An external schema describes the part of the database which
specific user is interested in
It hides the unrelated details of the database from the user
Facts about external schema:
 An external level is only related to the data which is viewed by
specific end users

 External schema level is nearest to the user

 Objective of 3 Level Schema

 The user need not to deal directly with physical database

storage level
 The structure of the database should remain unaffected
when changes are made to one level
 User can access the same data but able to see a
customized view of the data
Disadvantages of 3 Level Schema

 Complete DB Schema is a complex structure

 Difficult to set up and maintain
Be Passionate and Be creative