Seeing Snowflake’s Architecture through Modeling Notation

Throughout this book, relational diagrams have been used to support examples and illustrate ideas in ways that words could not. Although various modeling styles and notations have been introduced, a thorough overview of the visual semantics of modeling and the various elements and their properties has not been covered.

In this chapter, we will run through the complete visual toolkit that will enable users to accelerate the design and understanding of a physical Snowflake database and add functional context through conceptual conventions. Using a simplified and pragmatic approach, users of any background can view and explore a database schema at the level of detail that best suits their needs.

In this chapter, we’re going to cover the following main topics:

• Recall the history of modeling styles and notations
• Understand the connection between the relational model and its visual depictions
• Learn...