A database management system is installed on a system in order to be able to manage data sets optimally. As already mentioned, here there are various models that primarily differ in the intended structuring of the data. The choice of DBMS, therefore, also means determining a database model. The following database models are available to choose from:
- Relational
- Hierarchical
- Network-oriented
- Object-oriented
- Document-oriented
The most widely used and most popular is the relational database model. In this model, the data is structured in table rows. The advantage of this is the possibility of creating certain relationships between the individual rows and representing these in columns. The approach with a hierarchical database model is different: Here, the different data interacts in parent-child relationships, and so it is structured in a hierarchical system.
The network-oriented database model represents another approach to organizing data. Here, the data is structured inside a network. The object-oriented database model works in a different way. Alongside the relationships between the data sets, heredity also plays an important role here. In this way, objects – regulated by the DBMS – can transmit properties to other objects.
Database models that work in a document-oriented way envisage the storage of data sets in different documents.