Data Independence

Data Independence

A major objective for three-level architecture is to provide data independence, which means that upper levels are unaffected by changes in lower levels.

There are two types of Data Independence

1. Physical data independence
2. Logical data independence

1. Physical data independence is the ability to modify the physical schema without causing application programs to be rewritten. Modifications at the physical level are occasionally necessary to improve performance. It means we change the physical storage/level without affecting the conceptual or external view of the data. The new changes are absorbed by mapping techniques.

1. Logical data independence is the ability to modify the logical schema without causing application program to be rewritten. Modifications at the logical level are necessary whenever the logical structure of the database is altered (for example, when money-market accounts are added to banking system). Logical Data independence means if we add some new columns or remove some columns from table then the user view and programs should not change. For example: consider two users A & B. Both are selecting the fields "EmployeeNumber" and "EmployeeName". If user B adds a new column (e.g. salary) to his table, it will not effect the external view for user A, though the internal schema of the database has been changed for both users A & B.