Schema
ELI5 — The Vibe Check
A database schema is the blueprint of your database — which tables exist, what columns they have, what types they are, and how they relate to each other. It is the structure, not the data. Think of it as the skeleton before any data fills it.
Real Talk
A schema defines the logical structure of a database including tables, columns, data types, constraints, indexes, views, and relationships. In PostgreSQL, a schema is also a namespace within a database (the 'public' schema is the default). Schema design is one of the most important decisions in application architecture.
When You'll Hear This
"Design the database schema before writing any code." / "The schema migration added a new column to the users table."
Related Terms
Column
A column is a category of data in a table. If a table is a spreadsheet, columns are the headers: 'Name', 'Email', 'Age'.
ERD (Entity Relationship Diagram)
An ERD is a visual map of your database — boxes for tables, lines showing how they connect.
Migration
A migration is a versioned script that modifies your database schema — adding a column, creating a table, changing a type.
Normalization
Normalization is the process of organizing your database to reduce data duplication.
Table
A database table is exactly like a spreadsheet tab. It has columns across the top (name, email, age) and rows going down (one per person).