  We present the design and the status of the database for detector description
parameters in ATLAS experiment. The ATLAS Primary Numbers are the parameters
defining the detector geometry and digitization in simulations, as well as
certain reconstruction parameters. Since the detailed ATLAS detector
description needs more than 10,000 such parameters, a preferred solution is to
have a single verified source for all these data. The database stores the data
dictionary for each parameter collection object, providing schema evolution
support for object-based retrieval of parameters. The same Primary Numbers are
served to many different clients accessing the database: the ATLAS software
framework Athena, the Geant3 heritage framework Atlsim, the Geant4 developers
framework FADS/Goofy, the generator of XML output for detector description, and
several end-user clients for interactive data navigation, including web-based
browsers and ROOT. The choice of the MySQL database product for the
implementation provides additional benefits: the Primary Numbers database can
be used on the developers laptop when disconnected (using the MySQL embedded
server technology), with data being updated when the laptop is connected (using
the MySQL database replication).
