Entity-Relationship Modeling
Muhammad Umer (20241302), Week 3, 10/11/2020
Outline
1. ER model: basic concepts
2. Unified Modeling Language (UML)
3. UML to display ER models
4. ER model: Problems & Resolution
5. Construction of ER model
STAGES OF THE DATABASE SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE
Concepts of the ER Model
Entity types
Relationship types
Attributes
Entity Type
Entity type
Group of objects with same properties, identified by enterprise as having an independent
existence.
Entity occurrence
Uniquely identifiable object of an entity type.
Relationship Types
Relationship type
Set of meaningful associations among entity types.
Relationship occurrence
Uniquely identifiable association, which includes one occurrence from each participating entity
type.
Degree of a Relationship
Number of participating entities in relationship.
Relationship of degree :
two is binary
three is ternary
four is quaternary.
Recursive Relationship
Relationship type where same entity type participates more than once in different roles.
Attributes
Attribute
Property of an entity or a relationship type.
Attribute Domain
Set of allowable values for one or more attributes.
Simple Attribute
Attribute composed of a single component with an independent existence.
Composite Attribute
Attribute composed of multiple components, each with an independent existence.
Single-valued Attribute
Attribute that holds a single value for each occurrence of an entity type.
Multi-valued Attribute
Attribute that holds multiple values for each occurrence of an entity type.
Derived Attribute
Attribute that represents a value that is derivable from value of a related attribute, or set of attributes,
not necessarily in the same entity type.
Keys
Candidate Key
Minimal set of attributes that uniquely identifies each occurrence of an entity type.
Primary Key
Candidate key selected to uniquely identify each occurrence of an entity type.
Composite Key
A candidate key that consists of two or more attributes.
ER diagram of Staff and Branch entities and their attributes
Entity Type
Strong Entity Type
Entity type that is not existence-dependent on some other entity type.
Weak Entity Type
Entity type that is existence-dependent on some other entity type.
Strong entity type called Client and weak entity type called
Preference
Relationship called Advertises with attribute.
Structural Constraints
Main type of constraint on relationships is called multiplicity.
Multiplicity - number (or range) of possible occurrences of an entity type that may relate to a single
occurrence of an associated entity type through a particular relationship.
Represents policies (called business rules) established by user or company.
The most common degree for relationships is binary.
Binary relationships are generally referred to as being:
one-to-one (1:1)
one-to-many (1:*)
many-to-many (*:*)
Semantic net of Staff Manages Branch relationship type
Multiplicity for Complex Relationships
Number (or range) of possible occurrences of an entity type in an n-ary relationship when other (n-1)
values are fixed.
Multiplicity of ternary Registers relationship
Summary of multiplicity constraints
Alternative ways to represent
Meaning
multiplicity constraints
0..1 Zero or one entity occurrence
1..1 (or just 1) Exactly one entity occurrence
0..* (or just *) Zero or many entity occurrences
1..* One or many entity occurrences
5..10 Minimum of 5 up to a maximum of 10 entity occurrences
0, 3, 6-8 Zero or three or six, seven, or eight entity occurrences
Structural Constraints
Multiplicity is made up of two types of restrictions on relationships: cardinality and participation.
Cardinality
Describes maximum number of possible relationship occurrences for an entity participating in a given
relationship type.
Participation
Determines whether all or only some entity occurrences participate in a relationship.
Multiplicity as cardinality and participation constraints
Problems with ER Models
1. Problems may arise when designing a conceptual data model called connection traps.
2. Often due to a misinterpretation of the meaning of certain relationships.
3. Two main types of connection traps are called fan traps and chasm traps.
Fan Trap
Where a model represents a relationship between entity types, but pathway between certain entity
occurrences is ambiguous.
Chasm Trap
Where a model suggests the existence of a relationship between entity types, but pathway does not
exist between certain entity occurrences.
An Example of a Fan Trap
An Example of a Chasm Trap