Data modeling in software engineering is the process of creating a data model for an information system by applying certain formal techniques.

data model

<spelling> US spelling of "data modelling". (2000-06-24)

<database> The product of the database design process which aims to identify and organize the required data logically and physically. A data model says what information is to be contained in a database, how the information will be used, and how the items in the database will be related to each other. For example, a data model might specify that a customer is represented by a customer name and credit card number and a product as a product code and price, and that there is a one-to-many relation between a customer and a product. It can be difficult to change a database layout once code has been written and data inserted. A well thought-out data model reduces the need for such changes. Data modelling enhances application maintainability and future systems may re-use parts of existing models, which should lower development costs. A data modelling language is a mathematical formalism with a notation for describing data structures and a set of operations used to manipulate and validate that data. One of the most widely used methods for developing data models is the entity-relationship model. The relational model is the most widely used type of data model. Another example is NIAM. ["Principles of Database and Knowledge-Base Systems", J.D. Ullman, Volume I, Computer Science Press, 1988, p. 32]. (2000-06-24)

A data model is an abstract model that organizes elements of data and standardizes how they relate to one another and to the properties of real-world entities. For instance, a data model may specify that the data element representing a car be composed of a number of other elements which, in turn, represent the color and size of the car and define its owner.

A geographic data model, geospatial data model, or simply data model in the context of geographic information systems, is a mathematical and digital structure for representing phenomena over the Earth. Generally, such data models represent various aspects of these phenomena by means of geographic data, including spatial locations, attributes, change over time, and identity.

Data vault modeling is a database modeling method that is designed to provide long-term historical storage of data coming in from multiple operational systems. It is also a method of looking at historical data that deals with issues such as auditing, tracing of data, loading speed and resilience to change as well as emphasizing the need to trace where all the data in the database came from.

Geologic modelling, geological modelling or geomodelling is the applied science of creating computerized representations of portions of the Earth's crust based on geophysical and geological observations made on and below the Earth surface. A geomodel is the numerical equivalent of a three-dimensional geological map complemented by a description of physical quantities in the domain of interest.

Balloon modelling or balloon twisting is the shaping of special modelling balloons into almost any given shape, often a balloon animal. People who create balloon animals and other twisted balloon sculptures are called Twisters, Balloon Benders, and Balloon Artists.

In computing, data (treated as singular, plural, or as a mass noun) is any sequence of one or more symbols. Datum is a single symbol of data.