The Database Level

Information is stored in this level in traditional way of information storage and has nothing to do with hypertext. The information is stored in the various computer devices like hard disks, optical disks, etc., and these devices can be located at local or remote computer. Local means that the information is stored in the users’ computer storage devices and remote means it is stored on remote servers accessed through a network. No matter how the information is stored it should be possible to retrieve a specified small chunk of it in a very short time.

Furthermore, the database level should handle other traditional database issues, like multi-user access to the information, connecting the system to a network and various security considerations, including backup. Ultimately it will be the database level's responsibility to enforce the access controls which may be defined at the upper levels of the architecture.

Database level sees the hypertext nodes and links, which are determined at the HAM level, as just data objects but nothing more. This level is only concerned with the amount of storage space these units take up.