Database-centric architecture or data-centric
architecture has several distinct meanings, generally relating
to software architectures in which databases play a crucial role.
Often this description is meant to contrast the design to an
alternative approach. For example, the characterization of an
architecture as "database-centric" may mean any combination of the
following:
- using a standard, general-purpose relational database management
system, as opposed to customized in-memory or file-based data structures
and access methods. With the evolution of sophisticated DBMS software,
much of which is either free or included with the operating system,
application developers have become increasingly reliant on standard
database tools, especially for the sake of rapid application
development.
- using dynamic, table-driven logic, as opposed to logic embodied in
previously
The use of table-driven logic, i.e. behavior that is
heavily dictated by the contents of a database, allows programs to be
simpler and more flexible. This capability is a central feature of
dynamic programming languages.
- using stored procedures that run on database servers, as opposed to
greater reliance on logic running in middle-tier application servers in
a multi-tier architecture. The extent to which business logic should be
placed at the back-end versus another tier is a subject of ongoing
debate. For example, Oracle presents a detailed analysis of alternative
architectures that vary in the placement of business logic, concluding
that a database-centric approach has practical advantages from the
standpoint of ease of development and maintainability.
- using a shared database as the basis for communicating between
parallel processes in distributed computing applications, as opposed to
direct inter-process communication via message passing functions and
message-oriented middleware. A potential benefit of database-centric
architecture in distributed applications is that it simplifies the
design by utilizing DBMS-provided transaction processing and indexing to
achieve a high degree of reliability, performance, and capacity. For
example, Base One describes a database-centric distributed computing
architecture for grid and cluster computing, and explains how this
design provides enhanced security, fault-tolerance, and scalability
