Metadata is data about data. That is, metadata define the data characteristics such as the data type (such as character or numeric) and the relationships that link the data. Relationships are an important component of database design. What makes relationships especially interesting is that they are often defined by their environment. For instance, the relationship between EMPLOYEE and JOB is likely to depend on the organization’s definition of the work environment. For example, in some organizations an employee can have multiple job assignments, while in other organizations – or even in other divisions within the same organization – an employee can have only one job assignment.
The details of relationship types and the roles played by those relationships in data models are defined and described in Chapter 2, Data Models.”. Relationships will play a key role in subsequent chapters. You cannot effectively deal with database design issues unless you address relationships