Hierarchical Database Model

In today’s digital age, data is growing at an unprecedented scale. Managing and storing this data effectively is the only way for organizations to stay ahead of the competition. To do that, they need to use database models that provide a structured approach to organizing and utilizing information out of raw datasets.

Database models work as a blueprint for databases. Using these models, the structure, organization and accessibility of the data within a database is determined. They represent a map-like structure for locating the information in a database.

Importance of Database Models and Their Types

While there are a lot of different database models, all of them are used to structure and organize data within a database management system. To do this systematically, relationships are created between different pieces of information while ensuring its optimal storage, retrieval, and manipulation. With exponential data growth, the need to use data models for optimal insights has also increased. To meet this demand, a lot of new data models have evolved. A few examples of popular database models include:

Hierarchical model, as the name implies, is, a database model that works on the concept of hierarchy. While the hierarchical database model is less flexible than newer models such as relational databases, its concrete structure and efficiency makes it a lasting choice for managing data with inherent hierarchical relationships.

Network model is used to define complex relationships between various records using a graph structure. In this model, a single record can have multiple parent as well as child records. In terms of flexibility, network model beats hierarchical model.

Object-oriented model uses objects to store data and support complex relationships and data types. This model is an appropriate choice for applications requiring higher levels of interaction between objects.

Relational model uses tables for storing data in the form of rows and columns. The relationships between different tables are maintained by using foreign keys. The simplicity of the relational model and SQL queries for conducting operations makes it a widely accepted choice.

Knowledge graph model is a new way of organizing data in the form of subject-verb-object statements providing a network of interconnected information. This model facilitates deeper insight into complex data by enabling multifaceted relationships within the data unlike traditional relational databases.

To ensure data integrity as well as database performance, companies need to choose the model that aligns with their requirements. Let’s look into the specifics of the hierarchical database model in the following sections.

How Does a Hierarchical Database Model Work?

The data in this model is organized in a tree-like structure where the root node has the most general information and is followed by parent nodes and their subsequent child nodes. A single parent node can have one or more child nodes, but a single child node cannot have multiple parent nodes. This model consists of records with fields that represent individual data points.

Hierarchical databases are especially useful when the relationship between identities is naturally in a hierarchical form, such as file systems or organizational structures. Navigation between nodes is generally done using predefined paths starting from the root node and traversing downwards to the destination.

Hierarchical Database Model Use Cases

The hierarchical database model is well-suited for applications with stable, hierarchical data relationships, providing fast access and simplicity but at the cost of flexibility and adaptability to complex, interconnected data structures. A few examples of this are:

1. Company or Organizational Structures– In any corporation, be it private or government owned, individual entities are best represented using hierarchy. For example- The corporation itself can be the root node followed by subsequent departments as parent nodes. Each department can have further division based on sub-departments, teams or independent employees showing the reporting hierarchy.
2. File Systems– Hierarchical databases can also be efficiently used to manage file systems. In this situation, directories are labeled as parent nodes and the files or subdirectories inside them can be stored as child nodes, enabling smooth navigation and management of the file storage system.
3. Geographical Organization– Maintaining data hierarchy is also useful when dealing with geographical datasets. Hierarchical data models are used to organize information related to locations and their subdivisions. As an example, a country can be termed as a parent node with multiple child nodes as states and these states can have further child nodes as cities. This type of organization leads to better structure management in geo-specific scenarios.
4. Inventory Management Systems– Hierarchical database model is finely structured which makes it well-suited for inventory management. As an example, each item in the hierarchy can be represented as a node. Within this node, there can be categories and subcategories creating the parent nodes. This structured approach enables efficient tracking of items, quantities, locations and other relevant information.
5. Financial Record Management– Finance-related data is hierarchical, making it an excellent choice for hierarchical data model application. In the model’s tree-like structure, each individual account can contain multiple nodes representing transactions. Financial institutions utilize this model to manage bank accounts, loans and overall transactional data.

Hierarchical Database Model: Advantages & Disadvantages

Developed by IBM in the 1960s, the hierarchical database model is one of the early data models used in the industry. It was overpowered by relational database model which was introduced later. While the hierarchical data model has a simple structure and may be well suited for a few applications, it has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages

1. Faster Data Retrieval– As the data stored in the hierarchical database models is structured and predictable, it allows easy retrieval and faster access. This property makes hierarchical data model easy and simple to use as well.
2. Data Integrity and Consistency– The tree-like structure of a hierarchical database model ensures strict parent-child relationships, leading to higher consistency. With a single parent assigned to each record, data integrity is also well-maintained.
3. Ease of Adding and Deleting Data– Because of a well-organized structure, adding new records or deleting from existing hierarchies is extremely easy. In situations where the data can naturally fit into a hierarchy such as organizational charts or systems, adding new data aligns well with the format. Similarly, if a parent node is deleted from the hierarchy, the child nodes are automatically deleted.

Disadvantages

1. Lack of Flexibility– While hierarchical databases are suitable for simple structured systems like files and geographies, they aren’t well suited to handle complex data structures. This limited flexibility creates issues in adapting to expanding business requirements.
2. Standardization Issues– Since hierarchical models aren’t as popular as others, the lack of best practices and standardization often causes problems while using them for modern, large-scale applications needing dynamic and efficient data management.
3. Scalability Issues– With growing data and the addition of new nodes, the parent-child hierarchy pattern makes traversing and retrieval challenging and slow. Moreover, digging data from deeper levels results in performance challenges. Scaling data horizontally across multiple servers becomes an issue as the hierarchical model lacks the support for distributed computing.

Advantages of Kyvos Over Hierarchical Database Model

Kyvos is a Gen AI powered semantic layer that provides unlimited scalability and enables organizations to accelerate analytics for massive data volumes on modern data platforms. Opposed to traditional data modeling techniques including but not limited to hierarchical database modeling, Kyvos uses quick data modeling which allows enterprises to connect to their data and create models more quickly with minimum setup effort or technical expertise.

With data size in billions, organizations fail to get optimum performance with traditional database models. It involves creating complex schemas which take a lot of time to build. That’s where Kyvos’ quick data modeling comes in. Following are a few benefits of using Kyvos over hierarchical and other traditional models:

Lightning Fast: Quick data modeling cuts through the time it takes to build models, turning hours of manual work into minutes. This speedy process covers everything, from connecting to various data sources to creating a smart semantic model.

Effortless Use: An intuitive interface traces through each step, taking care of all the initial setup tasks in the background. It starts by identifying key data points and then recommending the best model as per the need.

Smart Design: With quick data model, the system automatically detects connections between the data, validates everything at once and builds a model tailored to specific data profile. This intelligent design creates a solid foundation and can be customized further to meet specific requirements.

Conclusion

The hierarchical database model provides a unique way to organize inherently hierarchical data using parent-child relationships. Although it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution, it’s useful, simple and efficient to use in cases where data is structured in a natural hierarchy.

For applications like file system organization, a hierarchical data model fits accurately and provides faster data retrieval and clean structure for a better understanding of connections between the data.

In modern relevance, hierarchical databases are integrated with new technologies to manage specific data structures, like XML, JSON and other web development models.