Database-centric architecture
Database-centric architecture is a term that has several distinct meanings, all of which relate to software architectures in which databases play a crucial role. Generally this description it is meant to contrast the design to an alternative approach. For example, the characterization of an architecture as "database-centric" may mean any combination of the following:
- using a standard, general-purpose relational database management system, as opposed to customized in-memory or file-based data structures and access methods.
- using stored procedures that run on database servers, as opposed to greater reliance on logic running in middle-tier application servers in a multi-tier architecture.
- using a shared database as the basis for communicating between parallel processes in distributed computing applications, as opposed to direct inter-process communication via message passing functions and message-oriented middleware.