Database Systems:

Design, Implementation, and

Management
Ninth Edition

Chapter 3
The Relational Database Model
 Admin Stuff
• Labs will start next week. TA can help with
– Modeling questions
– Use of LucidChart to draw ERD
– Connecting to VDI
• Assignment 1 – will be posted by end of this week.
• Midterm. Will cover all material up to class before. Make sure you do
sample problems.
• These students are not in groups – please see me
xx
xx

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Agenda
• Lecture (Relational modeling)
• Break
• Group work

Database Systems, 9th Edition

 Objectives
• In this chapter, students will learn:
– That the relational database model offers a
logical view of data
– About the relational model’s basic component:
relations
– That relations (aka tables) are logical constructs
composed of rows (tuples) and columns
(attributes)
– That relations are implemented as tables in a
relational DBMS
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 Objectives (cont’d.)
– About relational database operators, the data
dictionary, and the system catalog
– How data redundancy is handled in the
relational database model
– Why indexing is important

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 A Logical View of Data

• Relational model
– View data logically rather than physically
• Table
– Structural and data independence
– Resembles a file conceptually
• Relational database model is easier to
understand than hierarchical and network
models

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 Tables and Their Characteristics
• Logical view of relational database is based on
relation
– Relation thought of as a table
• Table: two-dimensional structure composed of
rows and columns
– Persistent representation of logical relation
• Contains group of related entities (entity set)

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 Keys
• Each row in a table must be uniquely
identifiable
• Key is one or more attributes that determine
other attributes
• Key’s role is based on determination
– If you know the value of attribute A, you can
determine the value of attribute B
• Functional dependence
– Attribute B is functionally dependent on A if all
rows in table that agree in value for A also
agree in value for B
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 Keys (cont’d.)
• Composite key
– Composed of more than one attribute
• Key attribute
– Any attribute that is part of a key
• Superkey
– Any key that uniquely identifies each row
• Candidate key (aka Candidate PK)
– A superkey without unnecessary attributes

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 Keys (cont’d.)
• Nulls
– No data entry
– Not permitted in primary key
– Should be avoided in other attributes
– Can represent:
• An unknown attribute value
• A known, but missing, attribute value
• A “not applicable” condition

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 Keys (cont’d.)
• Nulls (cont’d.)
– Can create problems when functions such as
COUNT, AVERAGE, and SUM are used
– Can create logical problems when relational tables
are linked

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 Keys (cont’d.)
• Controlled redundancy
– Makes the relational database work
– Tables within the database share common
attributes
• Enables tables to be linked together
– Multiple occurrences of values not redundant
when required to make the relationship work
– Redundancy exists only when there is
unnecessary duplication of attribute values

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 Keys (cont’d.)
• Foreign key (FK)
– An attribute whose values match primary key
values in the related table
• Referential integrity
– FK contains a value that refers to an existing
valid tuple (row) in another relation
• Secondary key
– Key used strictly for data retrieval purposes

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 Integrity Rules
• Many RDBMs enforce integrity rules
automatically
• Safer to ensure that application design
conforms to entity and referential integrity rules
• Designers use flags to avoid nulls
– Flags indicate absence of some value

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 Relational Set Operators
• Relational algebra
– Defines theoretical way of manipulating table
contents using relational operators
– Use of relational algebra operators on existing
relations produces new relations:
• SELECT • DIFFERENCE
• PROJECT • JOIN
• UNION • PRODUCT
• INTERSECT • DIVIDE
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 Relational Set Operators (cont’d.)
• Natural Join
– Links tables by selecting rows with common
values in common attribute(s)
• Equijoin
– Links tables on the basis of an equality
condition that compares specified columns
• Theta join
– Any other comparison operator is used
• Outer join
– Matched pairs are retained, and any
unmatched values in other table are left null
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 The Data Dictionary
and System Catalog
• Data dictionary
– Provides detailed accounting of all tables found
within the user/designer-created database
– Contains (at least) all the attribute names and
characteristics for each table in the system
– Contains metadata: data about data
• System catalog
– Contains metadata
– Detailed system data dictionary that describes all
objects within the database
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 Relationships within the Relational
Database
• 1:M relationship
– Relational modeling ideal
– Should be the norm in any relational database
design
• 1:1 relationship
– Should be rare in any relational database design

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 Relationships within the Relational
Database (cont’d.)
• M:N relationships
– Cannot be implemented as such in the relational
model
– M:N relationships must be changed into 1:M
relationships

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 The 1:M Relationship
• Relational database norm
• Found in any database environment

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 The 1:1 Relationship
• One entity related to only one other entity, and
vice versa
• Sometimes means that entity components were
not defined properly
• Could indicate that two entities actually belong
in the same table
• Certain conditions absolutely require their use

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 The M:N Relationship
• Implemented by breaking it up to produce a set
of 1:M relationships
• Avoid problems inherent to M:N relationship by
creating a composite entity
– Includes as foreign keys the primary keys of
tables to be linked

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 Data Redundancy Revisited
• Data redundancy leads to data anomalies
– Can destroy the effectiveness of the database
• Foreign keys
– Control data redundancies by using common
attributes shared by tables
– Crucial to exercising data redundancy control
• Sometimes, data redundancy is necessary

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 Indexes
• Orderly arrangement to logically access rows
in a table
• Index key
– Index’s reference point
– Points to data location identified by the key
• Unique index
– Index in which the index key can have only one
pointer value (row) associated with it
• Each index is associated with only one table

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 Codd’s Relational Database Rules
• In 1985, Codd published a list of 12 rules to
define a relational database system
– Products marketed as “relational” sometimes
did not meet minimum relational standards
• Even dominant database vendors do not fully
support all 12 rules.

• [Link]

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Group Work

In BS, I have placed a file with problems and solutions for

this class. Please work within your group (or by yourself)
and try to solve these problems and only then should you
look at the solution.
Pop Quiz (Session
01)
You must try to do these by yourself, or you will not learn
how to do it.