The importance of the underlying
structure of any database is that it provides a constant and
logical organization (standard or proprietary) that:
Ensures the continuity and
stability of format of the stored data so that search software
can find desired data. An analogy provides an example:
If the chapters of a
history book are scattered at random through the book, if
the table of contents and the index are dumped somewhere in
the middle of the book, it would be difficult to get
information from the book.
But, most history books are
organized in a progressive time format (the past to the
future). There is also, almost invariably, a table of
contents and an index, both of which enable us to locate
specific information in the book.
Enables us to search the
database in multiple ways. These include:
Searching by index (Yahoo
is an example).
Search by titles, authors,
subjects, words, phrases, and more.
Receive the requested
information from it via display, printed output, or other
means.