<i>&quot;Show me your flowcharts and conceal your tables, and I shall continue to be mystified. Show me your tables, and I won’t usually need your flowcharts; they’ll be obvious.&quot;</i>
                -- Fred Brooks<p>At least in the realm of business applications (i.e. not scientific apps, or games, etc.) the most common approach is to keep data (including data dictionaries and db structures) at the center.