Data dictionaries
Data dictionaries are created during the design phase to define the structure of a database.
Creating relational database management systems can be time consuming, and a data dictionary will act as an efficient reference point during implementation.
Data dictionaries contain the following metadata.
- name of each entity
- name of all attributes associated with each entity
- type of data that will be held by each attribute
- size of each attribute (taking account of the overall file size to be held in RAM or backing storage)
- indication of attributes that will be used as primary or foreign keys during implementation
- validation rules that are to be applied to attributes
At Higher level, you are expected to describe and exemplify a data dictionary with three or more entities.
