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Chapter 2

The Relational Database Model

Database Systems: Design, Implementation, and

Management, Fifth Edition, Rob and Coronel

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In this chapter, you will learn:

• That the relational database model takes a
logical view of data
• That the relational database model’s basic
components are entities and their attributes, and
relationships among entities
• How entities and their attributes are organized
into tables
• 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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Logical View of Data

• Relational Database
– Designer focuses on logical representation rather
than physical
– Use of table advantageous
• Structural and data independence
• Related records stored in independent tables
• Logical simplicity
– Allows for more effective design strategies

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Logical View of Data (con’t.)

• Entities and Attributes
– Entity is a person, place, event, or thing about
which data is collected
– Attributes are characteristics of the entity
• Tables
– Holds related entities or entity set
– Also called relations
– Comprised of rows and columns

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Table Characteristics
• Two-dimensional structure with rows and
columns
• Rows (tuples) represent single entity
• Columns represent attributes
• Row/column intersection represents single
value
• Tables must have an attribute to uniquely
identify each row

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Table Characteristics (con’t.)

• Column values all have same data format
• Each column has range of values called
attribute domain
• Order of the rows and columns is immaterial to
the DBMS

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Keys
• One or more attributes that
determine other attributes
– Key attribute
– Composite key
• Full functional dependence
• Entity integrity
– Uniqueness
– No ‘null’ value in key

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Example Tables

Figure 2.1

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Simple Relational Database

Figure 2.2

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Keys (con’t.)
• Superkey
– Uniquely identifies each entity
• Candidate key
– Minimal superkey
• Primary key
– Candidate key to uniquely identify all other
attributes in a given row
• Secondary key
– Used only for data retrieval
• Foreign key
– Values must match primary key in another table

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Integrity Rules

• Entity integrity
– Ensures all entities are unique
– Each entity has unique key
• Referential integrity
– Foreign key must have null value or match primary
key values
– Makes it impossible to delete row whose primary
key has mandatory matching foreign key values in
another table

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Relational Database Operators

• Relational algebra determines
table manipulations
• Key operators
– SELECT
– PROJECT
– JOIN
• Other operators
– INTERSECT
– UNION
– DIFFERENCE
– PRODUCT
– DIVIDE
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Union
Combines all rows

Figure 2.5

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Intersect
Yields rows that appear in both tables

Figure 2.6

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Difference
Yields rows not found in other tables

Figure 2.7

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Product
Yields all possible pairs from two tables

Figure 2.8

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Select
Yields a subset of rows based on specified criterion

Figure 2.9
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Project
Yields all values for selected attributes

Figure 2.10

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Join
Information from two or more tables is combined

Figure 2.11

Figure 2.14

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Natural Join Process

• Links tables by selecting rows with common
values in common attribute(s)
• Three-stage process
– Product creates one table
– Select yields appropriate rows
– Project yields single copy of each attribute to
eliminate duplicate columns

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Other Joins
• EquiJOIN
– Links tables based on equality condition that
compares specified columns of tables
– Does not eliminate duplicate columns
– Join criteria must be explicitly defined
• Theta JOIN
– EquiJOIN that compares specified columns of
each table using operator other than equality one
• Outer JOIN
– Matched pairs are retained
– Unmatched values in other tables left null
– Right and left

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Divide
Requires user of single-column table and two-column table

Figure 2.17

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Data Dictionary and System Catalog

• Data dictionary
– Provides detailed account of all tables found within
database
– Metadata
– Attribute names and characteristics
• System catalog
– Detailed data dictionary
– System-created database
– Stores database characteristics and contents
– Tables can be queried just like any other tables
– Automatically produces database documentation

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Relationships within Relational Database

• Relationship classifications
– 1:1
– 1:M
– M:N
• E-R Model
– ERD Maps E-R model
– Chen
– Crow’s Feet

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ERD Symbols
• Rectangles represent entities
• Diamonds represent the relationship(s)
between the entities
• “1” side of relationship
– Number 1 in Chen Model
– Bar crossing line in Crow’s Feet Model
• “Many” relationships
– Letter “M” and “N” in Chen Model
– Three pronged “Crow’s foot” in Crow’s Feet
Model

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Example 1:M Relationship

Figure 2.18

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Example 1:M Relationship

Figure 2.20

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Example M:N Relationship

Figure 2.23

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Example M:N Relationship

Figure 2.24

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Converting M:N Relationship to Two

1:M Relationships
Figure 2.25

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Converting M:N Relationship to Two

1:M Relationships (con’t.)

Figure 2.26

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Converting M:N Relationship to Two

1:M Relationships (con’t.)

Figure 2.27

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Converting M:N Relationship to Two

1:M Relationships (con’t.)

Figure 2.28

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Data Redundancy Revisited

• Foreign keys can reduce redundancy
• Some redundancy is desirable
– Called controlled redundancy
– Speed
– Information requirements

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Indexes
• Points to location
• Makes retrieval of data faster

Figure 2.31

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