What is a PDM?

A Physical Data Model (PDM) is the implementation of your Conceptual Data Model (CDM). It has tables, which are the physical objects used to store the data from your entities, and column. It has your relationships as referential constraints.

In Database Workbench, a PDM is bound to a specific type of database system and includes database system specific options. By default, a new PDM will be using the most recent version of a DBMS, you can edit these settings in the Model Options Dialog.

Note:

A PDM doesn't have to be associated with a database or session, they can be saved to a diagram file and re-used even without a database connection.

See also: Connections and a PDM

Next: Objects in a PDM