Before we approach the details of relational data architecture, it helps to establish a base understanding of relational concepts. If you are an experienced database pro- grammer, you will probably want to move on to the next section on normalization. In this section, we will review the key concepts behind relational databases critical to an in-depth understanding of relational data architecture. Databases and Database Engines Developers new to database programming often run into problems understanding just what a database is. In some contexts, it represents a collection of data like the music library. In other contexts, however, it may refer to the software that supports that col- lection, a.
