Final answer:
Database systems operate at various levels: physical, conceptual, and implementational. The physical level deals with the hardware storage of data, the conceptual level with data organization and structure, and the implementational level, or database schema, applies the conceptual design to the physical database.
Step-by-step explanation:
Distinguishing Different Levels in Database Systems
In the context of database systems, understanding the distinctions between the physical (low-level), conceptual (high-level), and implementational (representational) levels is crucial. The physical level refers to the electronic changes and the engineered hardware that store and process data. This is the level at which data is actually placed on storage media. The conceptual level is a high-level overview of the database's structure and organization, where databases are planned at an abstract level in terms of how data is related and organized, often through data modeling. Database normalization is a technique used at this level to reduce redundancy and improve data integrity. The implementational or representational level, also known as the database schema, is where the conceptual design is turned into a physical database structure, incorporating specific database management systems and defining how data will be stored, retrieved, and updated.
Database architecture encompasses the overall design of the data storage system, detailing how data is physically contained and accessed within the system. In this architecture, decisions made include the choice of hardware, software, and the methods used to integrate database systems into an organization's broader information system.