What does the 3-Level Database Architecture aim to achieve?

The 3-Level Database Architecture is designed to provide a framework for understanding how data is stored, accessed, and maintained in a database system while ensuring a separation between different levels of abstraction. The architecture comprises three levels: the internal level, the conceptual level, and the external level.

The aim of this architecture is to achieve the separation of user applications from the physical database. This means that users can interact with data at a higher conceptual level without needing to be concerned about the details of how data is physically stored or managed. By providing this separation, the architecture allows for a greater flexibility in managing changes to the database schema, data storage mechanisms, or even the physical database design without impacting the user applications that rely on the data.

This helps in providing data abstraction and data independence—where changes at one level do not necessitate changes at another level, ensuring that user applications remain stable and functional even as the underlying database structure evolves.