Terminology
The structure of a data base is called a database schema
The schema specifies …
- The list of table names forming the database
- For each table, the fields of its records
- For each field, its attributes or properties, i.e. data type, key or not key, default value, etc.
A database as the word is normally used, i.e. tables with specific contents, is known as a database instance (of a data base schema)
There can be many instances of a single database schema