Chapter 8.1

A Brief History of Data Architecture

Abstract

Data architecture began with simple storage devices. But soon, the need to store lots of
data and to access the data quickly caused these early devices to disappear. In its place
came disk storage. With disk storage, data could be accessed directly. But the need for
managing volumes of data surpassed that of disk storage. One day, there appeared big
data. And with big data came the ability to store effectively unlimited amounts of data.
But as big data grew, the older day-to-day systems did not go away. There began to be a
need for a rational way to interface legacy systems to big data.

Keywords

Storage device; Paper tape; Punched cards; Disk storage direct access of data; Big data;
Interfacing corporate data and big data

Data have been around since the first computer program was written. In many ways, data
are the gasoline that fuels the engine of the computer. The way that data are used, the
way data are shaped, and the way that data are stored has progressed to the point that
there is actually now an area of study that can be called data architecture.

There are many facets to data architecture because—as we shall see—data are complex.
The four most interesting aspects of data architecture are the following:

• The physical manifestation of data


• The logical linkage of data


• The internal format of data


• The file structure of data

Each of these aspects of data has evolved interdependently over time. Data architecture
can best be explained in terms of the evolution of each of these aspects of data
architecture.

The evolution of data architecture is seen in Fig. 8.1.1.

Chapter 8.1: A Brief History of Data Architecture