Last time we learned about tables, rows, and columns. But where do these tables actually live? Think of it like organizing files on your computer - there's a specific hierarchy.
Just like you have folders within folders, databases have a clear organizational structure.
Engagement Message
Before you can add tables, what must exist first?
At the top level is the database itself. This is like the main filing cabinet that holds everything. A company might have separate databases for "Sales", "Inventory", or "HR".
Each database is completely independent and serves a specific business purpose.
Engagement Message
What might be a good name for a database that handles online customer orders?
Let's go one level deeper. Inside each database, you'll find schemas. Schemas are like drawers in a filing cabinet—they help organize related tables together.
For example, an "ecommerce" database could have a "products" schema for product tables and a "customers" schema for customer tables. This keeps things tidy and easy to find.
Engagement Message
Why might you want to separate product tables from customer tables into different schemas?
Within each schema live the tables we discussed last time. Remember, tables focus on one main topic like "Books" or "Authors".
So our path looks like: Database → Schema → Table → Rows and Columns.
Engagement Message
Which object in the database hierarchy is responsible for grouping related tables together?
Applications reference these objects using dot notation, like a file path. To access the "title" column in the "books" table, you might write "products.books.title".
This tells the system exactly where to find that specific piece of information.
Engagement Message
If you wanted the "email" column from a "customers" table in a "users" schema, how would you write that path?
