5) Schema Design - From the Absolute Basics to the Advanced Level
Previous Part: Query Optimization Now, let’s break Schema Design down from beginner to advanced so you’ll understand how to plan, build, and optimize database structures that are efficient, scalable, and easy to work with . 1. What is Schema Design? A schema is the blueprint of a database. It defines: Tables (entities) Columns (attributes) Data types Relationships (foreign keys) Constraints (rules) Good schema design makes your queries faster, data more reliable and future changes easier. 2. Beginner Level — Core Concepts 2.1 Identify Entities Entities are things you want to store data about. Example (E-commerce): Customers Products Orders 2.2 Determine Attributes For each entity, list its properties. Example ( Customers table): customer_id (Primary Key) name email phone 2.3 Choose Data Types Use the smallest data type that fits your data. Example: INT for IDs VARCHAR(255) for text DATE for dates DECIMAL(10,...
