A physical data structure refers to the actual organisation of data in memory, while a logical data structure is the abstract representation of data. A physical data structure, also known as a storage structure, is concerned with the actual arrangement of data in a computer's memory.
In summary, while a physical data structure is concerned with the practicalities of how data is stored and accessed in memory, a logical data structure is more concerned with how data is perceived and manipulated by the user.
The main difference between logical and physical data model is that logical data model helps to define the data elements and their relationships, while physical data model helps to design the actual database based on the requirements gathered during the logical data modelling.
Physical Data Model vs. Logical Data Model
Logical data model Physical data model Business POV Database POV
A model of rules and data structure with ... A model of actual database tables and vi ... Helps understand how the business operat ... Helps implement real entities with real ... Involves entities, attributes, relations ... Expands logical data model with data typ ... 6 more rows ...,An Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD) is a pictorial representation of the information that can be captured by a database
A logical data model or logical schema is a data model of a specific problem domain expressed independently of a particular database management product or storage technology but in terms of data structures such as relational tables and columns, object-oriented classes, or XML tags.
This is as opposed to a conceptual data model, which describes the semantics of an organization without reference to technology.