Chapter 3:

The Enhanced E-R Model

Chapter 3 3-1
Database Development Approach

Conceptual DB
Design
Phases Methods Outcomes
Extended Entity-
Logical DB Design Conceptual DB Design ER Diagrams
relationship modeling
Logical DB Design Relational model Normalized relations

Physical DB Design Physical BD Design File organizations Efficient file structures

DB Implementation SQL SQL statements

DB
Implementation

Chapter 3 3-2
 Entity-Relational Approach

• Basic constructs of E-R diagram include:

• Entity (Entity type)
• Strong entity, weak entity, Associative Entity
• Attribute
• Simple attribute, composite attribute, multi-valued
attribute (Associative Entity), derived attribute, identifier
• Relationship (Relationship type)
• 1:1, 1:N, M:N
• Unary, binary, ternary
The problem: it can not support complicated relationships

Chapter 3 3-3 3
 Objectives

• Define terms
• Understand use of supertype/subtype relationships
• Use specialization and generalization techniques
• Specify completeness and disjointness constraints
• Develop supertype/subtype hierarchies for realistic business
situations
• Develop entity clusters
• Explain universal (packaged) data model
• Describe special features of data modeling project using
packaged data model

Chapter 3 3-4
 Supertypes and Subtypes
§ Enhanced ER model: extends original ER model with new
modeling constructs
§ Subtype: A subgrouping of the entities in an entity type
that has attributes distinct from those in other
subgroupings
§ Supertype: A generic entity type that has a relationship
with one or more subtypes
§ Attribute Inheritance:
• Subtype entities inherit values of all attributes of the supertype
• An instance of a subtype is also an instance of the supertype

Chapter 3 3-5
 Figure 3-1 Basic notation for supertype/subtype notation

a) EER
notation

Chapter 3 3-6
 Figure 3-1 Basic notation for supertype/subtype notation (cont.)

b) Microsoft
Visio
Notation

Different modeling tools may have different notation for the same
modeling constructs.

Chapter 3 3-7
 Figure 3-2 Employee supertype with three subtypes

All employee subtypes

will have employee
number, name, address,
and date hired

Each employee subtype

will also have its own
attributes

Chapter 3 3-8
Relationships and Subtypes

§ Relationships at the supertype level indicate that all

subtypes will participate in the relationship
§ The instances of a subtype may participate in a relationship
unique to that subtype. In this situation, the relationship is
shown at the subtype level

Chapter 3 3-9
Figure 3-3 Supertype/subtype relationships in a hospital

Chapter 3 3-10
Generalization and Specialization

• Generalization: The process of defining a more

general entity type from a set of more specialized
entity types. BOTTOM-UP

• Specialization: The process of defining one or

more subtypes of the supertype and forming
supertype/subtype relationships. TOP-DOWN

Chapter 3 3-11
 Figure 3-4 Example of generalization
a) Three entity types: CAR, TRUCK, and MOTORCYCLE

All these types of vehicles have common attributes

Chapter 3 3-12
 Figure 3-4 Example of generalization (cont.)
b) Generalization to VEHICLE supertype

So we put
the shared
attributes in
a supertype

Note: no subtype for motorcycle, since it has no unique attributes

Chapter 3 3-13
 Figure 3-5 Example of specialization
a) Entity type PART

Only applies to
manufactured parts

Applies only to purchased parts

Chapter 3 3-14
 Figure 3-5 Example of specialization (cont.)
b) Specialization to MANUFACTURED PART and PURCHASED PART

Created 2
subtypes

Note: multivalued composite attribute was replaced

by an associative entity relationship to another entity
Chapter 3 3-15
Constraints in Supertype/ Subtype
Relationships
§ Completeness Constraints: Whether
an instance of a supertype must also be
a member of at least one subtype
§ Total Specialization Rule: Yes (double line)
§ Partial Specialization Rule: No (single line)

Chapter 3 3-16
 Figure 3-6 Examples of completeness constraints
a) Total specialization rule

Chapter 3 3-17
 Figure 3-6 Examples of completeness constraints (cont.)
b) Partial specialization rule

Chapter 3 3-18
Constraints in Supertype/Subtype
Relationships
• Disjointness Constraints: Whether an
instance of a supertype may simultaneously be a
member of two (or more) subtypes
• Disjoint Rule: An instance of the supertype can be
only ONE of the subtypes
• Overlap Rule: An instance of the supertype could be
more than one of the subtypes

Chapter 3 3-19
Disjoint vs Overlap Rules

Disjoint Set Overlapping Set

Chapter 3 3-20
 Figure 3-7 Examples of disjointness constraints
a) Disjoint rule

Chapter 3 3-21
 Figure 3-7 Examples of disjointness constraints (cont.)
b) Overlap rule

Chapter 3 3-22
Constraints in Supertype/Subtype
Relationships
• Subtype Discriminator: An attribute of the
supertype whose values determine the target
subtype(s)
• Disjoint – a simple attribute with alternative values to
indicate the possible subtypes
• Overlapping – a composite attribute whose subparts
pertain to different subtypes. Each subpart contains a
Boolean value to indicate whether or not the instance
belongs to the associated subtype

Chapter 3 3-23
Figure 3-8 Introducing a subtype discriminator (disjoint rule)

Chapter 3 3-24
 Figure 3-9 Subtype discriminator (overlap rule)

1)Manufactured = “Y” and Purchased = “Y”

2)Manufactured = “Y” and Purchased = “N”
3)Manufactured = “N” and Purchased = “Y”
Chapter 3 3-25
 Figure 3-10 Example of supertype/subtype hierarchy

IsEmp = “Y/N”
IsAlum
IsStudent

EmployeeType StudentType

F S U
G

Chapter 3 3-26
 27

Summary

• EER: extension of basic E-R model to include

supertype/subtype relationships.
• Supertype/subtype relationships
• Generalization/Specialization techniques
• Total v.s. partial specialization
• Disjoint v.s. overlap rule

Chapter 3 3-27