Conceptual Diagram of Geodatabase

Below is a simplified diagram of some of the objects within Geodatabase. Labels describe the relationship between objects.

 

Label	Relationship between objects
Workspace Factory	An object that allows you to connect to a workspace. The workspace factory is format-dependent. This means that a different workspace factory is used to open an ArcSDE Workspace than to open a Microsoft Access workspace.
Workspace	A data source that contains datasets. The workspace represents the actual Geodatabase being created or opened.
Dataset	A collection of data that is grouped together. Examples include feature classes, tables, and feature datasets.
Table	A container of non-spatial data. It is never part of a feature dataset.
Feature Class	A container of spatial data. It may be part of a feature dataset, or standalone.
Feature Dataset	A container of feature classes. All the feature classes within the feature dataset share the spatial reference of the feature dataset.
Domain	An object that is used to constrain a field in a feature class or table to an allowable value for that field.
Subtype	An object that is used to separate rows (features) in a table (feature class) into different groups so that different default values or validation rules can be used for each group.