data model
Back to DuckDB Data Engineering Glossary
A data model is a conceptual representation of how data is structured, organized, and related within a system or database. It defines the entities, attributes, and relationships between different data elements. For aspiring data analysts and engineers, understanding data models is crucial as they form the foundation for designing efficient databases, data warehouses, and analytics systems.
Data models can be represented at different levels of abstraction:
- Conceptual models provide a high-level view of the data structure and relationships.
- Logical models add more detail, including attributes and relationships.
- Physical models represent how data is actually stored in a database system.
Common types of data models include:
- Relational models: Organize data into tables with rows and columns, using primary and foreign keys to establish relationships.
- Dimensional models: Often used in data warehousing, featuring fact and dimension tables for efficient analysis.
- Entity-relationship models: Visualize entities and their relationships using diagrams.
In the context of modern data stacks, tools like dbt allow data teams to define and manage data models using SQL, enabling version control and collaboration on data transformations. Understanding and creating effective data models is essential for building scalable and maintainable data systems that support accurate analysis and reporting.