We may expect each tuple in this relation to map to a record in the operating
system file that holds the Staff relation. Each field in a record would store one
attribute value from the Staff relation. When a user requests a tuple from the
DBMS—for example, Staff tuple SG37—the DBMS maps this logical record on to
a physical record and retrieves the physical record into the DBMS buffers in primary
storage using the operating system file access routines.
The physical record is the unit of transfer between disk and primary storage, and
vice versa. Generally, a physical record consists of more than one logical record,
although depending on size, a logical record can correspond to one physical record.
It is even possible for a large logical record to span more than one physical record.
The terms block and page are sometimes used in place of physical record. In the
remainder of this appendix we use the term “page.” For example, the Staff tuples
in Figure F.1 may be stored on two pages, as shown in Figure F.2.