Magento database structure

The database structure of Magento is designed to store and manage various aspects of an e-commerce website, including products, orders, customers, and more.

Understanding the Magento database structure is crucial for developers and administrators working with Magento.

Magento uses the Entity-Attribute-Value (EAV) database model, which allows for flexible and extensible data storage. Here's a brief overview of key components in the Magento database structure:

1. Core Tables:

   • These tables store essential information about the store and its configuration. Examples include core_config_data for configuration settings and core_store for store-related information.

2. EAV Tables:

   • Magento uses EAV tables for storing dynamic and flexible data, such as product attributes. Some key EAV tables include eav_entity, eav_attribute, and tables related to specific entities like catalog_product_entity for products and customer_entity for customers.

3. Catalogue Tables:

   • These tables store information related to products and categories. For example, catalog_product_entity contains basic product information, while catalog_product_entity_varchar stores varchar-type attribute values for products.

4. Sales Tables:

   • Tables like sales_order and sales_order_item store information related to orders. The structure allows for detailed tracking of each item within an order.

5. Customer Tables:

   • Tables like customer_entity and customer_address_entity store customer-related information. The EAV model is used to accommodate various customer attributes.

6. Index Tables:

   • Magento uses indexing to optimise database queries for improved performance. Index tables, such as catalog_product_index_price and catalog_category_product_index, store precomputed values to speed up common queries.

7. Log Tables:

   • Magento keeps log information in tables like report_event and log_visitor. These tables store data related to customer activity, reports, and system logs.

8. Review and Rating Tables:

   • Tables like review and rating store information related to product reviews and ratings.

When working with the Magento Framework, developers interact with the database using models. Models in Magento are PHP classes that map to database tables, making it easier to retrieve, update, and manipulate data. The framework also includes a Resource Model layer that abstracts the database interaction, providing a consistent and secure way to perform CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations.

The Magento database structure follows the EAV model for flexibility, with dedicated tables for core configuration, catalogue, sales, customer data, and more. The Magento Framework provides models and resource models to interact with the database, making it easier for developers to work with the data within the application.