Network model

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (October 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "Network model" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2019) This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. Please help improve it to make it understandable to non-experts, without removing the technical details. (January 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

In computing, the network model is a database model conceived as a flexible way of representing objects and their relationships. Its distinguishing feature is that the schema, viewed as a graph in which object types are nodes and relationship types are arcs, is not restricted to being a hierarchy or lattice.

The network model was adopted by the CODASYL Data Base Task Group in 1969 and underwent a major update in 1971. It is sometimes known as the CODASYL model for this reason. A number of network database systems became popular on mainframe and minicomputers through the 1970s before being widely replaced by relational databases in the 1980s.