Editing Data model (section)

=== Semantic data model ===
{{Main|Semantic data model}}
[[File:A2 4 Semantic Data Models.svg|thumb|320px|Semantic data models<ref name="FIPS184"/>]]
A semantic data model in software engineering is a technique to define the meaning of data within the context of its interrelationships with other data. A semantic data model is an abstraction that defines how the stored symbols relate to the real world.<ref name="FIPS184"/> A semantic data model is sometimes called a [[conceptual data model]].

The logical data structure of a [[database management system]] (DBMS), whether [[Hierarchical model|hierarchical]], [[Network model|network]], or [[Relational model|relational]], cannot totally satisfy the [[Requirements analysis|requirements]] for a conceptual definition of data because it is limited in scope and biased toward the implementation strategy employed by the DBMS. Therefore, the need to define data from a [[Three schema approach|conceptual view]] has led to the development of semantic data modeling techniques. That is, techniques to define the meaning of data within the context of its interrelationships with other data. As illustrated in the figure. The real world, in terms of resources, ideas, events, etc., are symbolically defined within physical data stores. A semantic data model is an abstraction that defines how the stored symbols relate to the real world. Thus, the model must be a true representation of the real world.<ref name="FIPS184"/>