4. Build a Mnesia Database

4 Build a Mnesia Database

This section describes the basic steps when designing a Mnesia database and the programming constructs that make different solutions available to the programmer. The following topics are included:

• Define a schema
• Data model
• Start Mnesia
• Create tables

4.1 Define a Schema

The configuration of a Mnesia system is described in a schema. The schema is a special table that includes information such as the table names and the storage type of each table (that is, whether a table is to be stored in RAM, on disc, or on both, as well as its location).

Unlike data tables, information in schema tables can only be accessed and modified by using the schema-related functions described in this section.

Mnesia has various functions for defining the database s