In a Data Flow Diagram (DFD) and an Entity-Relationship Diagram (ERD), how will data stores and some external entities be represented in an ERD?

In an Entity-Relationship Diagram (ERD), data stores and external entities are represented as entities. This is because entities in an ERD are the primary objects or concepts that have data stored about them within a database. Each entity corresponds to a distinct data store that holds relevant attributes or information, such as customer details or product specifications.

For instance, an "Employee" entity might store various attributes like name, employee ID, and position, directly representing the information system’s data stores. External entities in an ERD serve as points of interaction with the system, highlighting the relationships and flow of information between the system and outside actors.

Attributes and relationships, while crucial components of an ERD, do not serve to identify the data stores themselves. Attributes describe the properties of entities, and relationships illustrate how entities are connected, rather than representing the entities or data stores directly. Processes, typically found in Data Flow Diagrams, depict the activities that manipulate data but do not represent entities or data stores.