MINISIS Database Architecture

MINISIS Database Architecture

MINISIS is uniquely different from other typical data management solutions in that it is neither a
hierarchical nor relational database; rather, it is a hybrid of the two. Below is a discussion of how
MINISIS operates and how it differs from other solutions.

Hierarchical Databases

Hierarchical database technology was the

first major data model to be largely
accepted. Many legacy servers have
been hosting hierarchical databases for
decades.

A hierarchical database operates on the

principle that a record will contain groups
of similar objects. These groups are
organized into a cascading hierarchy.

As can be seen in the diagram to the

right, sales information is embedded right
into a customer’s record. Inside the sales
sub-group is information about the items
sold, and inside that group, information
about the manufacturers of those items.

Repeating Most hierarchical databases support the

groups concept of repeating groups (a group of
fields that may store multiple values). For
example, in the diagram to the right, a
customer could have many sales listed in
his name. These would be handled by
adding a separate entry for each sale into
the Sale repeating group.

The concept behind a hierarchical

database model is that sales information
is part of a customer’s record and should
therefore be stored with customer
information.

Hierarchical databases are typically very

fast and conceptually simple;
unfortunately, they are usually inflexible
due to their flat file structures.

XML and LDAP are two technologies that

use hierarchical data models effectively.
However, many complex systems are
more easily built with relational database
models.

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 MINISIS Database Architecture

Many-to-many The most significant limitation in a

relationships hierarchical database structure is the
inability to support many-to-many
relationships. As seen in the diagram to
the right, we can state that an item has
more than one manufacturer, because we
can make the manufacturer a repeating
group. The screwdriver here was made
by two organizations: ABC Inc. and DEF
Inc. However, we cannot state that a
manufacturer has made many items.
That is, if ABC Inc. makes screwdrivers
and hammers, we can only store
information on the screwdriver.

Referential If we wanted to store information on the

integrity hammer, we would have to duplicate all of
ABC Inc.’s information and copy it into a
record for the hammer. This is known as a
lack of referential integrity, and is a
significant limitation in the database
structure. Having to copy the same
record to multiple areas of the database is
inefficient and can cause serious data
flaws if the records are changed.

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 MINISIS Database Architecture

Relational Databases

Relational databases are a common

alternative to the hierarchical databases
described in the prior section.

Many information systems are too

complicated to be modeled as a
hierarchical database. In these cases,
relational data models may be more
practical.

SQL In a relational database, different data

groups are separated into their own
databases. These databases are linked
together via complex query statements
(such as those used in SQL, the
Structured Query Language).

Relational databases do not usually suffer

from the referential integrity problems that
occur in hierarchical databases.
However, relational databases are usually
more complex and significantly slower
than hierarchical databases.

Database Unfortunately, one of the largest

scattering drawbacks of a relational database is its
inability to handle queries efficiently. For
example, examine the diagram on the
right. Because different portions of a
transaction are stored in different
databases, more work is required to
gather that data if a query is performed.

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 MINISIS Database Architecture

If, for example, a user wished to

determine to run a report on all sales to
Bill Smith, the database engine would
have to do the following:
1. Find Bill Smith in the Customer
table
2. Use Bill Smith’s ID to find all
related Sales information in the
Sale table
3. Use the Item IDs in the item table
to find all the items that Mr. Smith
purchased
4. Use the Manufacturer IDs in the
Item table to find out who made
the items Mr. Smith purchased.

If a hierarchical database were being

used, and the same report was run, the
database would:
1. Find Bill Smith in the Customer
table and report his sales
information.

As the previous steps indicate, with a

hierarchical database only one database
needs to be opened to conduct the
example sales search; if a relational
database is in use, four databases must
be opened, which will take quite a bit
longer.

Aside from speed, the other major

problem with relational database engines
is their complexity. Relational databases
are generally far more complex than
hierarchical ones, and usually require
dedicated programmers to build and
administer them.

Because there are usually more

databases involved in a relational model,
the query statements required to do
searches are quite complex. SQL (a
common query language) is so
complicated that its specifications are
1,100 pages long. No vendor has ever
fully implemented the SQL standard.

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 MINISIS Database Architecture

MINISIS: A Hybrid Database

MINISIS is a hybrid of hierarchical and

relational database concepts.
Hierarchical and relational data models
both have significant strengths and
weaknesses; MINISIS strives to capitalize
on the strengths of both data models.

In MINISIS, it is possible to implement a

fully hierarchical database, a fully
relational database, or some combination
of the two.

A sample MINISIS database is shown to

the right. The Customer database has a
hierarchically nested database called
Sale, whereas the Item database has a
hierarchically nested database called
Manufacturer. However, despite the
hierarchical nature of these two
databases, they are linked via a relational
join.

It is this level of flexibility that makes

MINISIS so easy to optimize and modify:
it can be as fast or as flexible as you need
it to be.

Malleability With MINISIS, you can structure a

database to fit into your business logic.
You can design complicated hierarchical
data blocks, or link them relationally –
whichever makes the most sense to you.
Other database engines – particularly
relational ones – force the user to “think
like a programmer” by imposing
complicated database design upon the
user.

Optimization Due to MINISIS’ malleable nature,

optimizing your database is simple.
Because parts of your database will likely
be created with hierarchical databases,
your system will likely be optimized by
design as it is built.

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XML Due to its extensive flexibility, MINISIS

can work together with almost any other
data protocol. For example, MINISIS has
no difficulty importing/exporting XML data.
Many other databases are incapable of
properly dealing with XML, as it is
generally provided as a flat file.

To the right is a diagram that explains

how MINISIS handles XML. A relational
database would have trouble importing
the example XML file provided, because
the XML file has a hierarchical structure.

A hierarchical database would have less

difficulty importing the file, because the
database could be built to match the XML
format. With the database shown below,
XML data from the above file could be
imported right into the database.

MINISIS supports XML importing through

various formats such as Dublin Core, with
more formats being added all the time.

ODBC MINISIS also supports ODBC importing.

Several different engines can handle
XML, and several ODBC, but not many
can handle both, as MINISIS can do.

ODBC is a relational database concept,

whereas XML is a hierarchical one. Most
databases would have trouble handling
both of these very important protocols.
Because MINISIS is a hybrid engine, it is
capable of both XML and ODBC
compatibility.

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