An overview of tables

There is a distinction between the table (data definition and data container) and the data (the contents of a table). The table definition describes the identification information, data structure, validation rules, storage, and retrieval of the data which is stored in the table (container). The definition is defined by the design and can only be changed by a developer. The data is the variable content that originates from user activities. The place where we can see the data explicitly referenced independently of the table as a definition of structure is in the Permissions setup data. In the next image, the data is formally referred to as Table Data:

The table is not the data: it is the definition of data contained in the table (stored in the database as metadata). Even so, we commonly refer to both the data and the table as if they were one and the same. That is what we will do in this book.

All permanent data must be stored in a table. All tables are defined by the...