What does database design entail?

Database design entails the process of creating a detailed data model of a database, including defining the structure, relationships, constraints, and optimization strategies to ensure efficient data storage, retrieval, and management. It involves understanding the requirements of the system, organizing data logically, and translating those into a physical database implementation.

Key aspects include:

1. Requirement Analysis: Gathering business needs to determine what data must be stored and how it will be used.
2. Conceptual Design: Creating an abstract model (e.g., ER diagrams) to represent entities, attributes, and relationships.
3. Logical Design: Translating the conceptual model into a structured format (e.g., relational schema) with tables, keys, and normalization to reduce redundancy.
4. Physical Design: Defining how the database will be implemented, including indexing, partitioning, and storage optimization for performance.

Example: For an e-commerce platform, database design would involve structuring tables for users, products, orders, and payments, ensuring relationships (e.g., a user can have multiple orders) and constraints (e.g., unique order IDs).

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