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Oracle Database Programming with Visual Basic.NET
 IEEE Press
445 Hoes Lane
Piscataway, NJ 08854

IEEE Press Editorial Board

Ekram Hossain, Editor in Chief

Jón Atli Benediktsson Xiaoou Li Jeffrey Reed

Anjan Bose Lian Yong Diomidis Spinellis
David Alan Grier Andreas Molisch Sarah Spurgeon
Elya B. Joffe Saeid Nahavandi Ahmet Murat Tekalp
Oracle Database Programming with Visual Basic.NET

Concepts, Designs, and Implementations

Ying Bai
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Johnson C. Smith University
Charlotte, North Carolina
Copyright © 2021 by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under
Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of
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Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing
this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents
of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and
strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where
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including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please contact our Customer
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for:

ISBN: 9781119734390

Cover design by Wiley

Cover image: © metamorworks/iStock/Getty Images

Set in 9.5/12.5pt STIXTwoText by SPi Global, Pondicherry, India

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is dedicated to my wife, Yan Wang, and my daughter, Susan (Xue) Bai.
 vii

Contents

About the Author xiv

Preface xv
Acknowledgments xvii
About the Companion Website xviii

1 Introduction 1
1.1 ­Outstanding Features About This Book 2
1.2 ­Who This Book Is For 2
1.3 What This Book Covered 2
1.4 How This Book Is Organized and How to Use This Book 4
1.5 How to Use Appendices and Related Materials 6
1.6 How to Use Source Codes and Sample Database 8
1.7 Instructors and Customer Supports 9

2 Introduction to Databases 10
2.1 What Are Databases and Database Programs? 11
2.1.1 File Processing System 11
2.1.2 Integrated Databases 11
2.2 Develop a Database 12
2.3 Sample Database 13
2.3.1 Relational Data Model 13
2.3.2 Entity-Relationship (ER) Model 17
2.4 Identifying Keys 18
2.4.1 Primary Key and Entity Integrity 18
2.4.2 Candidate Key 19
2.4.3 Foreign Keys and Referential Integrity 19
2.5 Define Relationships 19
2.5.1 Connectivity 19
2.6 ER Notation 22
2.7 Data Normalization 22
2.7.1 First Normal Form (1NF) 23
2.7.2 Second Normal Form (2NF) 23
2.7.3 Third Normal Form (3NF) 24
2.8 Database Components in Some Popular Databases 25
2.8.1 Microsoft Access Databases 27
viii Contents

2.8.2 SQL Server Databases 28

2.8.3 Oracle Databases 30
2.9 Create Oracle 18c XE Sample Database 33
2.9.1 Delete the Default Database XE 34
2.9.2 Create a New Oracle 18c XE Sample Database 34
2.9.3 Connect to Our Sample Database from the Oracle SQL Developer 41
2.9.4 Create an Oracle User Account for the User Schema 42
2.9.5 Create LogIn Table 45
2.9.6 Create Faculty Table 47
2.9.7 Create Other Tables 48
2.9.8 Create Relationships Among Tables 53
2.9.9 Store Images to the Oracle 18c Express Edition Database 60
2.10 Chapter Summary 73

3 Introduction to ADO.NET 77
3.1 The ADO and ADO.NET 77
3.2 Overview of the ADO.NET 79
3.3 The Architecture of the ADO.NET 80
3.4 The Components of ADO.NET 81
3.4.1 The Data Provider 81
3.4.2 The Connection Class 84
3.4.3 The Command and the Parameter Classes 87
3.4.4 The DataAdapter Class 95
3.4.5 The DataReader Class 98
3.4.6 The DataSet Component 101
3.4.7 The DataTable Component 105
3.4.8 ADO.NET Entity Framework 111
3.5 Chapter Summary 118

4 Introduction to Language-Integrated Query (LINQ) 123

4.1 Overview of Language-Integrated Query 123
4.1.1 Some Special Interfaces Used in LINQ 124
4.1.2 Standard Query Operators 126
4.1.3 Deferred Standard Query Operators 127
4.1.4 Non-Deferred Standard Query Operators 131
4.2 Introduction to LINQ 134
4.3 The Architecture and Components of LINQ 136
4.3.1 Overview of LINQ to Objects 137
4.3.2 Overview of LINQ to DataSet 138
4.3.3 Overview of LINQ to SQL 138
4.3.4 Overview of LINQ to Entities 139
4.3.5 Overview of LINQ to XML 140
4.4 LINQ to Objects 140
4.4.1 LINQ and ArrayList 140
4.4.2 LINQ and Strings 142
4.4.3 LINQ and File Directories 145
 Contents ix

4.4.4 LINQ and Reflection 148

4.5 LINQ to DataSet 149
4.5.1 Operations to DataSet Objects 150
4.5.2 Operations to DataRow Objects Using the Extension Methods 162
4.5.3 Operations to DataTable Objects 166
4.6 LINQ to Entities 166
4.6.1 The Object Services Component 167
4.6.2 The ObjectContext Component 167
4.6.3 The ObjectQuery Component 167
4.6.4 LINQ to Entities Flow of Execution 168
4.6.5 Implementation of LINQ to Entities 170
4.7 LINQ to XML 170
4.7.1 LINQ to XML Class Hierarchy 171
4.7.2 Manipulate XML Elements 172
4.7.3 Manipulate XML Attributes 175
4.7.4 Query XML with LINQ to XML 177
4.8 Visual Basic.NET Language Enhancement for LINQ 181
4.8.1 Lambda Expressions 181
4.8.2 Extension Methods 183
4.8.3 Implicitly Typed Local Variables 186
4.8.4 Query Expressions 188
4.9 LINQ To Oracle 189
4.10 Chapter Summary 190

5 Query Data from Oracle Database with Visual Basic.NET 196

­ Part I: Data Query with Visual Studio.NET Design Tools and Wizards 197
5.1 A Completed Sample Database Application Example 197
5.2 Visual Studio.NET Design Tools and Wizards 200
5.2.1 Data Components in the Toolbox Window 200
5.2.2 Data Source Window 204
5.3 Query Data from Oracle Database Using Design Tools and Wizards 212
5.3.1 Application User Interface 212
5.4 Use Visual Studio Wizards and Design Tools to Query and Display Data 217
5.4.1 Query and Display Data Using the DataGridView and Detail Controls 218
5.4.2 Use DataSet Designer to Edit the Structure of the DataSet 223
5.4.3 Bind Data to the Associated Controls in LogIn Form 225
5.4.4 Develop Codes to Query Data Using the Fill() Method 229
5.4.5 Use Return a Single Value to Query Data for LogIn Form 231
5.4.6 Develop the Codes for the Selection Form 234
5.4.7 Query Data from the Faculty Table for the Faculty Form 236
5.4.8 Develop Codes to Query Data from the Faculty Table 237
5.4.9 Query Data from the Course Table for the Course Form 242
­ Part II: Data Query with Runtime Objects 250
5.5 Introduction to Runtime Objects 250
5.5.1 Procedure of Building a Data-Driven Application Using Runtime Object 252
5.6 Query Data From Oracle Server Database Using Runtime Object 253
x Contents

5.6.1 Access to Oracle Server Database 253

5.6.2 Declare Global Variables and Runtime Objects for the Oracle Provider 255
5.6.3 Query Data Using Runtime Objects for the LogIn Form 256
5.6.4 The Coding for the Selection Form 261
5.6.5 Query Data Using Runtime Objects for the Faculty Form 261
5.6.6 Query Data Using Runtime Objects for the Course Form 268
5.6.7 Query Data Using Runtime Objects for the Student Form 277
5.7 Chapter Summary 293

6 Insert Data into Oracle Database with Visual Basic.NET 300

­ Part I: Insert Data with Visual Basic.NET Design Tools and Wizards 301
6.1 Insert Data into a Database 301
6.1.1 Insert New Records into a Database Using the TableAdapter.Insert Method 302
6.1.2 Insert New Records into a Database Using the TableAdapter.Update Method 303
6.2 Insert Data into Oracle Database Using a Sample Project InsertWizard 303
6.2.1 Create a New InsertWizard Project 303
6.2.2 Application User Interfaces 304
6.2.3 Validate Data Before the Data Insertion 305
6.2.4 Initialization Coding Process for the Data Insertion 308
6.2.5 Build the Insert Query 309
6.2.6 Develop Codes to Insert Data Using the TableAdapter.Insert Method 310
6.2.7 Develop Codes to Insert Data Using the TableAdapter.Update Method 314
6.2.8 Insert Data into the Database Using the Stored Procedures 317
­ Part II: Data Insertion with Runtime Objects 325
6.3 The General Run-Time Objects Method 326
6.4 Insert Data into the Oracle Database Using the Run-Time Object Method 327
6.4.1 Insert Data into the Faculty Table for the Oracle Database 327
6.5 Insert Data into the Database Using Stored Procedures 335
6.5.1 Insert Data into the Oracle Database Using Stored Procedures 336
6.6 Insert Data into the Database Using the LINQ To DataSet Method 345
6.6.1 Insert Data into the Oracle Database Using the LINQ to DataSet Queries 346
6.7 Chapter Summary 348

7 Data Updating and Deleting with Visual Basic.NET 355

­ Part I: Data Updating and Deleting with Visual Studio.NET Design Tools and Wizards 356
7.1 Update or Delete Data Against Oracle Databases 356
7.1.1 Updating and Deleting Data from Related Tables in a DataSet 357
7.1.2 Using TableAdapter.Update and TableAdapter.Delete Methods 357
7.1.3 Update or Delete Data Against Database Using TableAdapter.Update Method 358
7.2 Update and Delete Data For Oracle 18c XE Database 359
7.2.1 Create a New UpdataDeleteWizard Project 359
7.2.2 Application User Interfaces 360
7.2.3 Validate Data Before the Data Updating and Deleting 361
7.2.4 Build the Update and Delete Queries 361
7.2.5 Develop Codes to Update Data Using the TableAdapter DBDirect Method 363
7.2.6 Develop Codes to Update Data Using the TableAdapter.Update Method 365
 Contents xi

7.2.7 Develop Codes to Delete Data Using the TableAdapter DBDirect Method 367
7.2.8 Develop Codes to Delete Data Using the TableAdapter.Update Method 368
7.2.9 Validate the Data After the Data Updating and Deleting 369
­Part II: Data Updating and Deleting with Runtime Objects 372
7.3 The Run Time Objects Method 373
7.4 Update and Delete Data for Oracle Database Using the Run Time Objects 374
7.4.1 Update Data Against the Faculty Table in the Oracle Database 375
7.4.2 Delete Data From the Faculty Table in the Oracle Database 377
7.5 Update and Delete Data against Oracle Database Using Stored Procedures 381
7.5.1 Modify the Existing Project to Create Our New Project 382
7.5.2 Create the Codes to Update and Delete Data from the Course Table 382
7.5.3 Update and Delete Data Using the LINQ to DataSet Query 392
7.6 Chapter Summary 395

8 Accessing Data in ASP.NET 401

8.1 What Is .NET Framework? 402
8.2 What Is ASP.NET? 403
8.2.1 ASP.NET Web Application File Structure 404
8.2.2 ASP.NET Execution Model 405
8.2.3 What Is Really Happened When a Web Application Is Executed? 406
8.2.4 The Requirements to Test and Run the Web Project 406
8.3 Develop ASP.NET Web Application to Select Data from Oracle Databases 407
8.3.1 Create the User Interface – LogIn Form 408
8.3.2 Develop the Codes to Access and Select Data from the Database 409
8.3.3 Validate the Data in the Client Side 413
8.3.4 Create the Second User Interface – Selection Page 415
8.3.5 Develop the Codes to Open the Other Page 415
8.3.6 Modify Codes in the LogIn Page to Transfer to the Selection Page 417
8.3.7 Create the Third User Interface – Faculty Page 418
8.3.8 Develop the Codes to Select the Desired Faculty Information 419
8.3.9 Create the Fourth User Interface – Course Page 424
8.3.10 Develop the Codes to Select the Desired Course Information 427
8.4 Develop ASP.NET Web Application to Insert Data into Oracle Databases 434
8.4.1 Develop the Codes to Perform the Data Insertion Function 435
8.4.2 Develop the Codes for the Insert Button Click Event Procedure 436
8.4.3 Validate the Data Insertion 441
8.5 Develop Web Applications to Update and Delete Data in Oracle Databases 443
8.5.1 Develop the Codes for the Update Button Click Event Procedure 443
8.5.2 Develop the Codes for the Delete Button Click Event Procedure 446
8.6 Develop ASP.NET Web Applications with LINQ to Oracle Query 457
8.6.1 Generate a New Web Project LINQWebOracle and a New LinqConnect Model 457
8.6.2 Develop the Codes for Our Web Project LINQWebOracle 462
8.7 Chapter Summary 471

9 ASP.NET Web Services 476

9.1 What Are Web Services and Their Components? 477
9.2 Procedures to Build a Web Service 478
xii Contents

9.2.1 The Structure of a Typical Web Service Project 478

9.2.2 Some Real Considerations When Building a Web Service Project 479
9.2.3 Introduction to Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) 480
9.2.4 Procedures to Build an ASP.NET Web Service 484
9.2.5 Install WCF Component with Visual Studio Installer 484
9.3 Build ASP.NET Web Service Project to Access Oracle Database 485
9.3.1 Files and Items Created in the New Web Service Project 486
9.3.2 A Feeling of the Hello World Web Service Project as it Runs 489
9.3.3 Modify the Default Namespace 492
9.3.4 Create a Base Class to Handle Error Checking for Our Web Service 493
9.3.5 Create a Customer Returned Class to Hold all Retrieved Data 493
9.3.6 Visual Basic System Class and Web Service Class 495
9.3.7 Add and Build Web Method GetOracleSelect() to the Web Services 495
9.3.8 Develop the Stored Procedure to Perform the Data Query 503
9.3.9 Use DataSet as the Returning Object for the Web Method 507
9.3.10 Build Windows‐based Web Service Clients to Consume the Web Services 510
9.3.11 Build Web‐based Web Service Clients to Consume the Web Service 519
9.3.12 Deploy the Completed Web Service to Production Servers 526
9.4 Build ASP.NET Web Service Project to Insert Data Into Oracle Databases 529
9.4.1 Create a New Web Service Project WebServiceOracleInsert 529
9.4.2 Develop Four Web Service Methods 530
9.4.3 Build Windows‐based Web Service Clients to Consume the Web Services 549
9.4.4 Build Web‐based Web Service Clients to Consume the Web Services 564
9.5 Build ASP.NET Web Service to Update and Delete Data for Oracle Database 575
9.5.1 Modify the Default Namespace and Add Database Connection String 576
9.5.2 Create Our Customer‐Built Base and Returned Classes 577
9.5.3 Create a Web Method to Call Stored Procedure to Update Student Records 578
9.5.4 Create a Web Method to Call Stored Procedure to Delete Student Records 580
9.5.5 Create a Web Method to Collect the Current Student Members 582
9.5.6 Develop Two Oracle Stored Procedures with Oracle SQL Developer 584
9.6 Build Windows-Based Web Service Clients to Consume the Web Services 590
9.6.1 Add a Web Service Reference to Our Client Project 590
9.6.2 Modify the Codes in the Form_Load Event Procedure 591
9.6.3 Build the Codes to the Update Button’s Click Event Procedure 592
9.6.4 Build the Codes to the Delete Button’s Click Event Procedure 593
9.7 Build Web-Based Web Service Clients to Consume the Web Services 596
9.7.1 Create a New ASP.NET Web Project and Add an Existing Web Page 597
9.7.2 Add a Web Service Reference and Modify the Web Form Window 597
9.7.3 Develop the Codes for the Page_Load() Event Procedure 598
9.7.4 Build the Codes Inside the Back Button’s Click Event Procedure 599
9.7.5 Add the Codes to the Update Button’s Click Event Procedure 599
9.7.6 Develop Codes for the Delete Button’s Click Event Procedure 601
9.7.7 Develop Codes for the Select Button’s Click Event Procedure 602
9.8 Chapter Summary 606
 Contents xiii

Appendix A: Download and Install Oracle Database XE 18c 613

Appendix B: Download and Install Oracle SQL Developer 619
Appendix C: Download and Install DevExpress WinForms 622
Appendix D: How to Use the Sample Database 625
Appendix E: How to Export the Sample Database 628
Appendix F: Download and Install dotConnect Express 632
Appendix G: How to Use User-Defined Windows/Web Forms 637
Appendix H: Download and Install FrontPage Server Extension for Windows 10 643
Appendix I: Download and Install LinqConnect Express 646

Index 649
xiv

About the Author

Dr. YING BAI is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Johnson
C. Smith University. His special interests include: artificial intelligences, soft computing, mixed-
language programming, fuzzy logic and deep learning, robotic controls, robots calibrations, and
database programming.
His industry experience includes positions as software engineer and senior software engineer at
companies such as Motorola MMS, Schlumberger ATE Technology, Immix TeleCom, and Lam
Research.
Since 2003, Dr. Bai has published sixteen (16) books with publishers such as Prentice Hall, CRC
Press LLC, Springer, Cambridge University Press, and Wiley IEEE Press. The Russian translation
of his first book titled Applications Interface Programming Using Multiple Languages was published
by Prentice Hall in 2005. The Chinese translation of his eighth book titled Practical Database
Programming with Visual C#.NET was published by Tsinghua University Press in China in 2011.
Most books are about software programming, serial port programming, fuzzy logic controls in
industrial applications, microcontroller controls and programming as well as classical and modern
controls on microcontrollers.
During recent years, Dr. Bai has also published more than sixty (60) academic research papers in
IEEE Trans. Journals and International conferences.
 xv

Preface

Databases have become an integral part of our modern-day life. We are an information-driven
society. Database technology has a direct impact on our daily lives. Decisions are routinely made
by organizations based on the information collected and stored in the databases. A record com-
pany may decide to market certain albums in selected regions based on the music preference of
teenagers. Grocery stores display more popular items at the eye level and reorders are based on the
inventories taken at regular intervals. Other examples include patients’ records in hospitals, cus-
tomers’ account information in banks, book orders by the libraries, club memberships, auto part
orders, and winter cloth stock by department stores, and many others.
In addition to database management systems, in order to effectively apply and implement data-
bases in real industrial or commercial systems, a good Graphic User Interface (GUI) is needed to
allow users to access and manipulate their records or data in databases. Visual Basic.NET is an
ideal candidate to be selected to provide this GUI functionality. Unlike other programming lan-
guages, Visual Basic.NET is a kind of language that has advantages such as easy-to-learn and easy-
to-be-understood with little learning curves. In the beginning of Visual Studio.NET 2005, Microsoft
integrated a few programming languages such as Visual C++, Visual Basic, C#, and Visual J# into
a dynamic model called .NET Framework that makes Internet and Web programming easy and
simple, and any language integrated in this model can be used to develop professional and efficient
Web applications that can be used to communicate with others via Internet. ADO.NET and ASP.
NET are two important submodels of .NET Framework. The former provides all components,
including the Data Providers, DataSet, and DataTable, to access and manipulate data against dif-
ferent databases. The latter provides support to develop Web applications and Web services in ASP.
NET environment to allow users to exchange information between clients and servers easily and
conveniently.
This book is mainly designed for college students and software programmers who want to
develop practical and commercial database programming with Visual Basic.NET and relational
database such as Oracle XE 18c. The book provides a detailed description about the practical con-
siderations and applications in database programming with Visual Basic.NET 2019 with authentic
examples and detailed explanations. More important, a new writing style is developed and imple-
mented in this book, combined with real examples, to provide readers with a clear picture as how
to handle the database programming issues in Visual Basic.NET 2019 environment.
The outstanding features of this book include, but no limited to:
1) A novel writing style is adopted to try to attract students’ or beginning programmers’ interest in
learning and developing practical database programs and to avoid the headache caused by
using huge blocks of codes in the traditional database programming books.
xvi Preface

2) Updated database programming tools and components are covered in the book, such as .NET
Framework 4.7, LINQ, ADO.NET 4.6, and ASP.NET 4.6, to enable readers to easily and quickly
learn and master advanced techniques in database programming and develop professional and
practical database applications.
3) A real completed sample Oracle XE 18c database CSE_DEPT is provided and used for the entire
book. Step by step, a detailed illustration and description about how to design and build a prac-
tical relational database are provided.
4) Covered both fundamental and advanced database-programming techniques to the conveni-
ence of both beginning students and experienced programmers.
5) All projects can be run in Microsoft Visual Studio.NET 2019 with Oracle XE 18c database.
6) Good textbook for college students, good reference book for programmers, software engineers,
and academic researchers.
I sincerely hope that this book can provide useful and practical help and guide to all readers or
users who adopted this book, and I will be more than happy to know that you guys can develop and
build professional and practical database applications with the help of this book.

Ying Bai
 xvii

Acknowledgments

First, a special thanks to my wife, Yan Wang, for I could not have finished this book without her
sincere encouragement and support.
Special thanks also to Dr. Satish Bhalla, a specialist in database programming and management,
especially in SQL Server, Oracle, and DB2, who spent a lot of time preparing materials for Chapter 2.
Many thanks to the Senior Editor, Mary Hatcher, who made this book available to the public,
without whose perseverance and hard work this book would not be available in the market. Thanks
should also go to the entire editorial team for all their contributions which made it possible to
publish this book.
Thanks are extended to the following book reviewers for their valuable suggestions and inputs:
●● Dr. Jiang (Linda) Xie, Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University
of North Carolina at Charlotte.
●● Dr. Dali Wang, Professor, Department of Physics and Computer Science, Christopher Newport
University.
●● Dr. Daoxi Xiu, Application Analyst Programmer, North Carolina Administrative Office of the
Courts.
Finally, but not the least, I would like to express my gratitude to all the people who supported me
in completing this book.
xviii

About the Companion Website

This book is accompanied by a companion website:

www.wiley.com/go/bai-VB-Oracle

The book companion website includes:

1) Instructor materials (accessible only by Instructors)
a) HW DB Project Solutions
b) HW Question Solutions
c) Images
d) Sample Database
e) Teaching-PPT
2) Student materials
a) Class DB Projects
b) Images
c) Sample Database
d) VB Forms
 1

Introduction

For many years during my teaching Visual Basic.NET programming and database-related
­programming courses in my college, I found that it is not easy to find a good textbook for this topic
and I had to combine a few different professional books together as references to teach these
courses. Most of those books are specially designed for programmers or software engineers, which
cover a lot of programming strategies and huge blocks of codes, which is a terrible headache to the
college students or beginning programmers who are new to the Visual Basic.NET and database
programming. I have to prepare my class presentations and figure out all home works and exer-
cises for my students. I dream that one day I could find a good textbook that is suitable for the
college students or beginning programmers and could be used to help them to learn and master the
database programming with Visual Basic.NET easily and conveniently. Finally, I decided that I
need to do something for this dream myself after a long time waiting.
Another reason for me to have this idea is the job market. As you know, most industrial and com-
mercial companies in US belong to database application businesses such as manufactures, banks,
hospitals, and retails. Majority of them need professional people to develop and build database-
related applications but not database management and design systems. To enable our students to
become good candidates for those companies, we need to create a book like this one.
Unlike most of database programming books in the current market, which discuss and present
the database programming techniques with huge blocks of programming codes from the first page
to the last page, this book tries to use a new writing style to show readers, especially to the college
students, how to develop professional and practical database programs with Visual Basic.NET by
using Visual Studio.NET Design Tools and Wizards related to ADO.NET and to apply codes that
are auto-generated by various Wizards. By using this new style, the over headache caused by using
huge blocks of programming codes can be removed; instead, a simple and easy way to create
­database programs using the Design Tools can be taken to attract students’ learning interest and
furthermore to enable students to build professional and practical database programming in more
efficient and interesting ways.
There are so many different database-programming books available on the market, but rarely
can you find a book like this one, which implemented a novel writing style to attract the students’
learning interests in this topic. To meet the needs of some experienced or advanced students or
software engineers, the book contains two programming methods: the interesting and easy-to-
learn fundamental database programming method – Visual Studio.NET Design Tools and

Oracle Database Programming with Visual Basic.NET: Concepts, Designs, and Implementations, First Edition. Ying Bai.
© 2021 The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. Published 2021 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Companion website: www.wiley.com/go/bai-VB-Oracle
2 1 Introduction

Wizards – and the advanced database programming method – runtime object method. In the
­second method, all database-related objects are created and applied during or when your project is
running by utilizing quite a few blocks of codes.

1.1 ­Outstanding Features About This Book

1) All programming projects can be run in Microsoft Visual Studio.NET 2019 with Oracle XE 18c
databases.
2) A novel writing style is adopted to try to attract students’ or beginning programmers’ interests
in learning and developing practical database programs and to avoid the headache caused by
using huge blocks of codes in the traditional database programming books.
3) Updated database programming tools and components are covered in the book, such as .NET
Framework 4.7, LINQ, ADO.NET 4.6, and ASP.NET 4.7, to enable readers to easily and quickly
learn and master advanced techniques in database programming and develop professional and
practical database applications.
4) A real completed sample database CSE_DEPT with Oracle XE 18c database engine is provided
and used for the entire book. Step by step, a detailed illustration and description about how to
design and build a practical relational database are provided.
5) Covered both fundamental and advanced database programming techniques to convenience
both beginning students and experienced programmers.
6) Provides homework and exercises for students and teaching materials for instructors, and these
enable students to understand what they learned better by doing something themselves and
allow instructors to organize and prepare their courses easily and rapidly.
7) Good textbook for college students, good reference book for programmers, software engineers,
and academic researchers.

1.2 ­Who This Book Is For

This book is designed for college students and software programmers who want to develop practi-
cal and commercial database programming with Visual Basic.NET and relational databases such
as Oracle XE 18c. Fundamental knowledge and understanding on Visual Basic.NET and Visual
Studio.NET IDE is assumed.

1.3 ­What This Book Covered

Nine (9) chapters are included in this book. The contents of each chapter can be summarized as
below.
●● Chapter 1 provides an introduction and summarization to the whole book.
●● Chapter 2 provides detailed discussions and analyses of the structure and components about
relational databases. Some key technologies in developing and designing database are also given
and discussed in this part. The procedure and components used to develop a practical relational
database with Oracle XE 18c are analyzed in detailed with some real data tables in our sample
database CSE_DEPT.
 1.3 ­What This Book Covere 3

●● Chapter 3 provides an introduction to the ADO.NET, which includes the architectures, ­organizations,
and components of the ADO.NET. Detailed discussions and descriptions are provided in this chap-
ter to give readers both fundamental and practical ideas and pictures in how to use components in
ADO.NET to develop professional data-driven applications. Two ADO.NET architectures are dis-
cussed to enable users to follow the directions to design and build their preferred projects based on
the different organizations of the ADO.NET. Four popular data providers, such as OleDb, ODBC,
SQL Server, and Oracle, are discussed. The basic ideas and implementation examples of DataTable
and DataSet are also analyzed and described with some real coding examples.
●● Chapter 4 provides detailed discussions and analyses about the Language-Integrated Query
(LINQ), which includes LINQ to Objects, LINQ to DataSet, LINQ to Entities, and LINQ to XML.
An introduction to LINQ general programming guide is provided in the first part of this chapter.
Some popular interfaces widely used in LINQ, such as IEnumerable, IEnumerable(Of T),
IQueryable and IQueryable(Of T), and Standard Query Operators (SQO) including the deferred
and non-deferred SQO, are also discussed in that part. An introduction to LINQ Query is given
in the second section of this chapter. Following this introduction, a detailed discussion and anal-
ysis about the LINQ queries that are implemented for different data sources is provided in detail
with quite a few example projects.
●● Starting from Chapter 5, the real database programming techniques with Visual Basic.NET such
as data selection queries are provided and discussed. Two parts are covered in this chapter: Part
I contains the detailed descriptions in how to develop professional data-driven applications with
the help of the Visual Studio.NET design tools and wizards with some real projects. This part
contains a lot of hiding codes that are created by Visual Basic.NET automatically when using
those design tools and wizards. Therefore, the coding job for this part is very simple and easy.
Part II covers an advanced technique, the runtime object method, in developing and building
professional data-driven applications. Detailed discussions and descriptions about how to build
professional and practical database applications using this runtime object method are provided
combined with four (4) real projects.
●● Chapter 6 provides detailed discussions and analyses about three popular data insertion meth-
ods with Oracle XE 18c database:
1) Using TableAdapter’s DBDirect methods TableAdapter.Insert() method.
2) Using the TableAdapter’s Update() method to insert new records that have already been
added into the DataTable in the DataSet.
3) Using the Command object’s ExecuteNonQuery() method.
This chapter is also divided into two parts: Methods 1 and 2 are related to Visual Studio.NET
design tools and wizards and therefore are covered in Part I. The third method is related to runt-
ime object and therefore it is covered in Part II. Four (4) real projects are used to illustrate how
to perform the data insertion into the Oracle XE 18c database. Some professional and practical
data validation methods are also discussed in this chapter to confirm the data insertion.
●● Chapter 7 provides discussions and analyses on three popular data updating and deleting meth-
ods with four real project examples:
1) Using TableAdapter DBDirect methods such as TableAdapter.Update() and TableAdapter.
Delete() to update and delete data directly again in the databases.
2) Using TableAdapter.Update() method to update and execute the associated TableAdapter’s
properties such as UpdateCommand or DeleteCommand to save changes made for the table
in the DataSet to the table in the database.
4 1 Introduction

3) Using the runtime object method to develop and execute the Command’s method
ExecuteNonQuery() to update or delete data again in the database directly.
This chapter is also divided into two parts: Methods 1 and 2 are related to Visual Studio.NET
design tools and wizards and therefore are covered in Part I. The third method is related to runt-
ime object and it is covered in Part II. Four (4) real projects are used to illustrate how to perform
the data updating and deleting against the database Oracle XE 18c. Some professional and prac-
tical data validation methods are also discussed in this chapter to confirm the data updating and
deleting actions. The key points in performing the data updating and deleting actions against a
relational database, such as the order to execute data updating and deleting between the parent
and child tables, are also discussed and analyzed.
●● Chapter 8 provides introductions and discussions about the developments and implementations
of ASP.NET Web applications in Visual Basic.NET 2019 environment. At the beginning of
Chapter 8, a detailed and complete description about the ASP.NET and the .NET Framework is
provided, and this part is especially useful and important to students or programmers who do
not have any knowledge or background in the Web application developments and implementa-
tions. Following the introduction section, a detailed discussion on how to install and configure
the environment to develop the ASP.NET Web applications is provided. Some essential tools
such as the Web server, IIS, and FrontPage Server Extension 2000 as well as the installation pro-
cess of these tools are introduced and discussed in detail. Starting from Section 8.3, the detailed
development and building process of ASP.NET Web applications to access the Oracle databases
are discussed with four (4) real Web application projects. One popular database Oracle XE 18c is
utilized as the target databases for those development and building processes.
●● Chapter 9 provides introductions and discussions about the developments and implementations
of ASP.NET Web services in Visual Basic.NET 2019 environment. A detailed discussion and
analysis about the structure and components of the Web services is provided at the beginning of
this chapter. One of the most popular databases, Oracle XE 18c, is discussed and used for three
kinds of example Web service projects, which include:
1) WebServiceOracleSelect
2) WebServiceOracleInsert
3) WebServiceOracleUpdateDelete
Each Web service contains different Web methods that can be used to access different databases
and perform the desired data actions such as Select, Insert, Update, and Delete via the Internet. To
consume those Web services, different Web service client projects are also developed in this chap-
ter. Both Windows-based and Web-based Web service client projects are discussed and built for
each kind of Web services listed earlier. Totally, nine (9) projects, including the Web service and the
associated Web service client projects, are developed in this chapter. All projects have been
debugged and tested and can be run in most popular Windows compatible operating systems, such
as Windows XP, Windows 7/8, and Windows 10.

1.4 ­How This Book Is Organized and How to Use This Book

This book is designed for both college students who are new to database programming with
Visual Basic.NET and professional database programmers who has professional experience on
this topic.
 1.4 ­How This Book Is Organized and How to Use This Boo 5

Level I

Chapter 2 Level II

Chapters 3 & 4 Chapters 3 & 4

Part I Part II
Chapter 5 Chapter 5

Part I Part II
Chapter 6 Chapter 6

Part I Part II
Chapter 7 Chapter 7
Optional
Chapter 8 Chapter 8

Chapter 9 Chapter 9

Figure 1.1 Two study levels in the book.

Chapters 2~4 provide the fundamentals on database structures and components, ADO.NET
and LINQ components. Chapters 5~7 each is divided into two parts: fundamental part and
advanced part. The data-driven applications developed with design tools and wizards provided
by Visual Studio.NET, which can be considered as the fundamental part, have less coding loads
and therefore they are more suitable to students or programmers who are new to the database
programming with Visual Basic.NET. Part II contains the runtime object method and it covers a
lot of coding developments to perform the different data actions against the database, and this
method is more flexible and convenient to experienced programmers even a lot of coding jobs is
concerned.
Chapters 8 and 9 give a full discussion and analysis about the developments and implementa-
tions of ASP.NET Web applications and Web services. These technologies are necessary to students
and programmers who want to develop and build Web applications and Web services to access and
manipulate data via Internet.
Based on the organization of this book we described earlier, this book can be used as two catego-
ries such as Level I and Level II, which is shown in Figure 1.1.
For undergraduate college students or beginning software programmers, it is highly recom-
mended to learn and understand the contents of Chapters 2~4 and Part I of Chapters 5~7, since
those are fundamental knowledge and techniques in database programming with Visual Basic.
NET. Regarding Chapters 8 and 9, it is optional to instructors and it depends on the time and
schedule available to instructors.
For experienced college students or software programmers who have already had some knowl-
edge and techniques in database programming, it is recommended to learn and understand the
contents of Part II of Chapters 5~7 as well as Chapters 8 and 9 since the runtime objects method
and some sophisticated database programming techniques, such as joined-table query and nested
stored procedures, are discussed and illustrated in those chapters with real examples. Also the ASP.
NET Web applications and ASP.NET Web services are discussed and analyzed with many real data-
base program examples for Oracle XE 18c database.
6 1 Introduction

1.5 ­How to Use Appendices and Related Materials

Totally, nine (9) Appendices, Appendices A~I, are provided with the book to assist and help readers
to easily and correctly download and install all required and necessary software and tools to build
desired practical database projects. These Appendices provide crystal clear directions for readers to
enable them to smoothly go through the entire installing and setup processes for each kind of soft-
ware and development tool and make them ready to be used to build professional and practical
database applications. The main functions and directions provided by these Appendices include:
–– Appendix A: Download and Install Oracle Database 18c XE. Provides a
complete and accurate direction to help users to complete downloading and installing this
Oracle XE 18c Database with its engine.
–– Appendix B: Download and Install Oracle SQL Developer. Provides an
accurate direction to help users to complete downloading and installing this Oracle SQL
Developer. This tool is a key component to build and develop any customer Oracle database,
including our sample database CSE_DEPT with five data tables and keys.
–– Appendix C: Download and Install DevExpress WinForms. Provides a com-
plete direction to help users to complete downloading and installing this third-party tool. By
using this tool, users can directly and conveniently insert any image into any table in Oracle
database without any coding process. This product is a 30-day free trial version without any
charge to the user.
–– Appendix D: How to Use the Sample Database. To assist readers to quickly and
easily build professional database application projects, a sample database, CSE_DEPT, is pro-
vided and used for entire book. This sample database is used to simulate a computer science
and engineering department with five tables, LogIn, Faculty, Course, Student,
and StudentCourse. This Appendix provides a clear picture to show readers how to down-
load and duplicate this sample database in just some button clicks. Indeed, by using this
Appendix and following up the directions, one can easily and quickly build this sample data-
base without spending much time and efforts! It greatly simplifies the generation and building
process of this sample database and therefore provides a quick shortcut for readers.
–– Appendix E: How to Export the Sample Database. Opposite to Appendix D,
this Appendix provides a way to show readers how to export our sample database CSE_DEPT
to enable other users to import it to their blank database to simplify this database-building
process. By following up the directions provided by this Appendix, readers can easily and
quickly export their database to enable other users to import and make that database as their
database. How easy it is!
–– Appendix F: Download and Install dotConnect Express. This is a free-ver-
sion third-party product that provides a data drive for Oracle data provider. To access an Oracle
database from any programming environment, including Visual Basic.NET, a data drive is
necessary to work as a translator or a bridge to setup up a connection between Visual Basic.
NET and Oracle database engine. This Appendix provides a clear and complete direction to
enable readers to quickly setup this connection.
–– Appendix G: How to Use User-Defined Windows/Web Forms. To assist readers
to speed up their database project developments, all Windows Forms and Web Pages used for
all projects built in this book have been developed. Readers can use any of them by just simply
adding them into their projects by using Add|Existing Item menu item. All built
Windows Forms, including the LogIn Form, Selection Form, Faculty Form,
 1.5 ­How to Use Appendices and Related Material 7

Course Form, and Student Form, and all built Web Pages, including the LogIn Page,
Selection Page, Faculty Page, Course Page, and Student Page, can be found from a folder VB
Forms\Windows and VB Forms\Web, which is located under the Students folder at the
Wiley ftp site (refer to Figure 1.2).
–– Appendix H: Download and Install FrontPage Server Extension for Windows 10.
To run any project developed in Chapters 8 and 9, one needs to use Internet Information Services
(IIS) provider. The FrontPage Server Extension can be considered as an administrator for IIS. To uti-
lize the IIS more effectively and efficiently, it is recommend installing this extension if possible.

For instructors:

Instructor materials are available upon request from wwww.wiley.com/go/bai-VB-Oracle/Instructors

HW DB projects Images HW question solutions

Sample database solutions Teaching-PPT

CSE_DEPT Chapter 1.ppt HW_Solution.pdf

Chapter 5 Chapter 2.ppt Faculty
2 Projects
Chapter 3.ppt 12-Faculty
Chapter 6 images
3 Projects Chapter 4.ppt

Chapter 7 Chapter 5.ppt

2 Projects Chapter 6.ppt Students
Chapter 8 Chapter 7.ppt 8-Student
4 Project images
Chapter 8.ppt
Chapter 9 Chapter 9.ppt
6 Projects

For students:

Learning materials are free to access via the site www.wiley.com/go/bai-VB-Oracle/Students

Class DB projects

Sample database I mages

VB forms
Chapter 2
CSE_DEPT 1 Project
Window Faculty
Chapter 4
12 Projects
Login form 13-Faculty
Faculty form Chapter 5 images
4 Projects
Course form
Student form Chapter 6
4 Projects Students
Selection form
Chapter 7 8-Student
Web 4 Projects images
Login page
Chapter 8
Faculty page 4 Projects
Course page
Chapter 9
Student page 9 Projects
Selection page

Figure 1.2 Book-related materials on Web site.

8 1 Introduction

–– Appendix I: Download and Install LinqConnect Express. This is a free-

version third-party product that provides a drive for LINQ to Oracle. To access and manipulate
data records in an Oracle database via LINQ to Oracle, one needs to use some third-party tool
or drive to setup a connection between any programming environment, including Visual
Basic.NET, and the Oracle database engine. This Appendix provides a clear and complete
direction to enable readers to quickly setup this connection and use this LINQ to Oracle tech-
nique to develop and build professional database applications.

1.6 ­How to Use Source Codes and Sample Database

All source codes in each project developed in this book are available and open to publics, and all
projects are categorized and stored into the associated chapters, which are located at a folder
Class DB Projects that is under the Students folder at the Wiley ftp site www.wiley.com/
go/bai-VB-Oracle. You can copy or download those codes into your computer and run each project
as you like. To successfully run those projects, the following conditions must be met:
●● Visual Studio.NET 2019 or higher must be installed in your computer.
●● The database management system, Oracle Database Configuration Assistant,
must be installed in your computer.
●● The sample database, CSE_DEPT, must be installed in your computer in the appropriate
folders.
●● To run projects developed in Chapters 8 and 9, in addition to conditions listed above, an Internet
Information Services (IIS) such as FrontPage Server Extension 2000 or 2002 must be installed in
your computer and it works as a pseudo server for those projects.
●● Some third-party drives and tools, such as DevExpress WinForms, dotConnect for Oracle,
LinqConnect Express, and Oracle SQL Developer, should have been installed in your computer.
All related teaching and learning materials, including the sample database, example projects,
homework solutions, faculty and student images, as well as sample Windows forms and Web
pages, can be found from the associated folders, Instructors or Students, located at the
Wiley ftp site www.wiley.com/go/bai-VB-Oracle, as shown in Figure 1.2.
These materials are categorized and stored at different folders in two different sites based on the
teaching purpose (for instructors) and learning purpose (for students):
1) Sample Database Folder: Contains our sample database, CSE_DEPT (Oracle XE 18c) with
five (5) tables. Refer to Appendix D to get details in how to use this database for your applica-
tions or sample projects.
2) Class DB Projects Folder: Contains all sample projects developed in the book. Projects are
categorized and stored at different Chapter subfolder based on the book chapter sequence.
Readers can directly use the codes and GUIs of those projects by downloading them from this
folder that is located under the Students folder at the Wiley ftp site.
3) Images Folder: Contains all sample faculty image files (under the Images\Faculty sub-
folder) and all student image files (under the Images\Students subfolder) used in all sample
projects in the book. Readers can copy and paste those image files to their projects to use them.
4) VB Forms Folder: Contains all sampled Windows-based Forms (under the VB Forms\
Window subfolder) and Web-based Pages (under the VB Forms\Web subfolder) developed
and implemented in all sample projects in the book. Readers can use those Forms or Pages by
 1.7 ­Instructors and Customer Support 9

adding them into their real projects with the Add|Existing Item menu item in the Visual
Studio.NET environment.
5) Teaching-PPT Folder: Contains all MS-PPT teaching slides for each chapter.
6) HW Question Solutions Folder: Contains selected solutions for the homework
Questions developed and used in the book. The solutions are categorized and stored at the dif-
ferent Chapter subfolder based on the book chapter sequence.
7) HW DB Project Solutions Folder: Contains all solutions for the homework Exercises
developed and used in the book. The project solutions are categorized and stored at the different
Chapter subfolder based on the book chapter sequence.
Folders 1~4 belong to learning materials for students; therefore, they are located at the sub-
folder Students at the site: www.wiley.com/go/bai-VB-Oracle. Folders 1~3 and 5~7 belong to
teaching materials for instructors, they are located at the sub-folder Instructors at the same
site (password protected) and available upon requests by instructors.

1.7 ­Instructors and Customer Supports

The teaching materials for all chapters have been extracted and represented by a sequence of
Microsoft Power Point files, each file for one chapter. The interested instructors can find them from
the folder Teaching-PPT that is located at a sub-folder Instructors at the site www.wiley.
com/go/bai-VB-Oracle and those instructor materials are available upon request from the book’s
listing on that site (password protected).
A selected homework Questions solution and all homework Exercise solutions are also available
upon request from the site. E-mail support is available to readers of this book. When you send
e-mail to us, please provide the following information:
●● The detailed description about your problems, including the error message and debug message,
as well as the error or debug number if it is provided.
●● Your name, job title, and company name.
●● Please send all questions to the e-mail address: [email protected].
Detailed structure and distribution of all book-related materials in the Wiley site, including the
teaching and learning materials, are shown in Figure 1.2.
All projects in the folder Instructors|HW DB Project Solutions are different from
those in the Students folder since the former contained solutions to projects in the Exercises
part, but the latter have no solutions.
10

Introduction to Databases
Ying Bai and Satish Bhalla

Databases have become an integral part of our modern day life. Today, we are an ­information-driven
society. Large amounts of data are generated, analyzed, and converted into different information
at each moment. A recent example of biological data generation is the Human Genome project
that was jointly sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Institute of
Health (NIH). Many countries participated in this venture for more than 10 years. The project was
a tremendous success. It was completed in 2003 and resulted in the generation of huge amount of
genome data, currently stored in databases around the world. The scientists will be analyzing this
data in years to come.
Database technology has a direct impact on our daily lives. Decisions are routinely made by
organizations based on the information collected and stored in the databases. A record company
may decide to market certain albums in selected regions based on the music preference of teenag-
ers. Grocery stores display more popular items at the eye level, and reorders are based on the inven-
tories taken at regular intervals. Other examples include book orders by the libraries, club
memberships, auto part orders, winter cloth stock by department stores, and many others.
Database management programs have been in existence since the sixties. However, it was not
until the seventies when E. F. Codd proposed the then revolutionary Relational Data Model that
database technology really took off. In the early eighties, it received a further boost with the arrival
of personal computers and microcomputer-based data management programs like dBase II (later
followed by dBase III and IV). Today, we have a plethora of vastly improved programs for PCs and
mainframe computers, including Microsoft Access, SQL Server, IBM DB2, Oracle, Sequel Server,
MySQL, and others.
This chapter covers the basic concepts of database design followed by implementation of a spe-
cific relational database to illustrate the concepts discussed here. The sample database, CSE_DEPT,
is used as a running example. The database structure is shown by using Microsoft Access, Microsoft
SQL Server, and Oracle databases with a real Oracle 18c XE database sample in details. The topics
discussed in this chapter include:
●● What are databases and database programs?
–– File Processing System
–– Integrated Databases
●● Various approaches to developing a Database
●● Relational Data Model and Entity-Relationship (ER) Model

Oracle Database Programming with Visual Basic.NET: Concepts, Designs, and Implementations, First Edition. Ying Bai.
© 2021 The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. Published 2021 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Companion website: www.wiley.com/go/bai-VB-Oracle
 2.1 ­What Are Databases and Database Programs 11

●● Identifying Keys
–– Primary Keys, Foreign Keys, and Referential Integrity
●● Defining Relationships
●● Normalizing the Data
●● Implementing the Relational Sample Database
–– Create Microsoft SQL Server 2017 Express Sample Database

2.1 ­What Are Databases and Database Programs?

A modern day database is a structured collection of data stored in a computer. The term structured
implies that each record in the database is stored in a certain format. For example, all entries in a
phone book are arranged in a similar fashion. Each entry contains a name, an address, and a telephone
number of a subscriber. This information can be queried and manipulated by database programs. The
data retrieved in answer to queries becomes information that can be used to make decisions. The data-
bases may consist of a single table or related multiple tables. The computer programs used to create,
manage, and query databases are known as a DataBase Management Systems (DBMSs). Similar to the
databases, the DBMSs vary in complexity. Depending on the need of a user, one can use either a simple
application or a robust program. Some examples of these programs were given earlier.

2.1.1 File Processing System

File processing system (FPS) is a precursor of the integrated database approach. The records for a
particular application are stored in a file. An application program is needed to retrieve or manipulate
data in this file. Thus, various departments in an organization will have their own file processing
systems with their individual programs to store and retrieve data. The data in various files may be
duplicated and not available to other applications. This causes redundancy and may lead to inconsist-
ency, meaning that various files that supposedly contain the same information may actually contain
different data values. Thus, duplication of data creates problems with data integrity. Moreover, it is
difficult to provide access to multiple users with the file processing systems without granting them
access to the respective application programs, which manipulate the data in those files.
The FPS may be advantageous under certain circumstances. For example, if data is static and a
simple application will solve the problem, a more expensive DBMS is not needed. For example, in
a small business environment, you want to keep track of the inventory of the office equipment
purchased only once or twice a year. The data can be kept in an Excel spreadsheet and manipulated
with ease from time to time. This avoids the need to purchase an expensive database program and
hiring a knowledgeable database administrator. Before the DBMS’s became popular, the data was
kept in files and application programs were developed to delete, insert, or modify records in the
files. Since specific application programs were developed for specific data
These programs lasted for months or years before modifications were necessitated by business needs.

2.1.2 Integrated Databases

A better alternative to a file processing system is an integrated database approach. In this environ-
ment, all data belonging to an organization is stored in a single database. The database is not a
mere collection of files; there is a relation between the files. Integration implies a logical relation-
ship, usually provided through a common column in the tables. The relationships are also stored
12 2 Introduction to Databases

within the database. A set of sophisticated programs known as DBMS is used to store, access, and
manipulate the data in the database. Details of data storage and maintenance are hidden from the
user. The user interacts with the database through the DBMS. A user may interact either directly
with the DBMS or via a program written in a programming language such as Visual C++, Java,
Visual Basic, or Visual C#. Only the DBMS can access the database. Large organizations employ
Database Administrators (DBA’s) to design and maintain large databases.
There are many advantages of using an integrated database approach over that of a file ­processing
approach:
1) Data sharing: The data in the database is available to a large numbers of users who can access
the data simultaneously and create reports and manipulate the data given proper authorization
and rights.
2) Minimizing data redundancy: Since all the related data exists in a single database, there is a
minimal need of data duplication. The duplication is needed to maintain relationship between
various data items.
3) Data consistency and data integrity: Reducing data redundancy will lead to data consist-
ency. Since data is stored in a single database, enforcing data integrity becomes much easier.
Furthermore, the inherent functions of the DBMS can be used to enforce the integrity with
minimum programming.
4) Enforcing standards: DBAs are charged with enforcing standards in an organization. DBA
takes into account the needs of various departments and balances it against the overall need of
the organization. DBA defines various rules such as documentation standards, naming conven-
tions, update and recovery procedures etc. It is relatively easy to enforce these rules in a Database
System, since it is a single set of programs which is always interacting with the data files.
5) Improving security: Security is achieved through various means such as controlling access to
the database through passwords, providing various levels of authorizations, data encryption,
providing access to restricted views of the database etc.
6) Data independence: Providing data independence is a major objective for any database system.
Data independence implies that even if the physical structure of a database changes, the applica-
tions are allowed to access the database as before the changes were implemented. In other words,
the applications are immune to the changes in the physical representation and access techniques.
The downside of using an integrated database approach has mainly to do with exorbitant costs
associated with it. The hardware, the software, and maintenance are expensive. Providing security,
concurrency, integrity, and recovery may add further to this cost. Furthermore, since DBMS
­consists of a complex set of programs, trained personnel are needed to maintain it.

2.2 ­Develop a Database

Database development process may follow a classical Systems Development Life Cycle.
1) Problem Identification – Interview the user, identify user requirements, and perform pre-
liminary analysis of user needs.
2) Project Planning – Identify alternative approaches to solving the problem. Does the project
need a database? If so define the problem. Establish scope of the project.
3) Problem Analysis – Identify specifications for the problem. Confirm the feasibility of the pro-
ject. Specify detailed requirements
 2.3 ­Sample Databas 13

4) Logical Design – Delineate detailed functional specifications. Determine screen designs,

report layout designs, data models etc.
5) Physical Design – Develop physical data structures.
6) Implementation – Select DBMS. Convert data to conform to DBMS requirements. Code pro-
grams; perform testing.
7) Maintenance – Continue program modification until desired results are achieved.
An alternative approach to developing a database is through a phased process which will include
designing a conceptual model of the system that will imitate the real-world operation. It should be
flexible and change when the information in the database changes. Furthermore, it should not be
dependent upon the physical implementation. This process follows following phases:
1) Planning and Analysis – This phase is roughly equivalent to the first three steps men-
tioned above in the Systems Development Life Cycle. This includes requirement specifica-
tions, evaluating alternatives, and determining input, output, and reports to be generated.
2) Conceptual Design – Choose a data model and develop a conceptual schema based on the
requirement specification that was laid out in the planning and analysis phase. This conceptual
design focuses on how the data will be organized without having to worry about the specifics of
the tables, keys, and attributes. Identify the entities that will represent tables in the database,
identify attributes that will represent fields in a table, and identify each entity attribute relation-
ship. ER diagrams provide a good representation of the conceptual design.
3) Logical Design – Conceptual design is transformed into a logical design by creating a road-
map of how the database will look before actually creating the database. Data model is iden-
tified; usually, it is the relational model. Define the tables (entities) and fields (attributes).
Identify primary and foreign key for each table. Define relationships between the tables.
4) Physical Design – Develop physical data structures; specify file organization and data storage
etc. Take into consideration the availability of various resources including hardware and soft-
ware. This phase overlaps with the implementation phase. It involves the programming of the
database taking into account the limitations of the DBMS used.
5) Implementation – Choose the DBMS that will fulfill the user needs. Implement the physi-
cal design. Perform testing. Modify if necessary or until the database functions satisfactorily.

2.3 ­Sample Database

We will use a sample database CSE_DEPT to illustrate some essential database concepts.
Tables 2.1~2.5 show sample data tables stored in this database.
The data in CSE_DEPT database is stored in five tables – LogIn, Faculty, Course, Student, and
StudentCourse. A table consists of row and columns (Figure 2.1). A row represents a record, and
the column represents a field. Row is called a tuple, and a column is called an attribute. For exam-
ple, Student table has seven columns or fields – student_id, name, gpa, major, schoolYear, and
email. It has five records or rows.

2.3.1 Relational Data Model

Data model is like a blue print for developing a database. It describes the structure of the data-
base and various data relationships and constraints on the data. This information is used in
building tables, keys, and defining relationships. Relational model implies that a user perceives
Table 2.1 LogIn table.

user_name pass_word faculty_id student_id

abrown america B66750

ajade tryagain A97850
awoods smart A78835
banderson birthday A52990
bvalley see B92996
dangles tomorrow A77587
hsmith try H10210
terica excellent T77896
jhenry test H99118
jking goodman K69880
sbhalla india B86590
sjohnson jermany J33486
ybai come B78880

Table 2.2 Faculty table.

faculty_id faculty_ office phone college title email fimage

name

A52990 Black MTC-218 750-378-9987 Virginia Tech Professor banderson@ NULL

Anderson college.edu
A77587 Debby MTC-320 750-330-2276 University of Associate dangles@ NULL
Angles Chicago Professor college.edu
B66750 Alice MTC-257 750-330-6650 University of Assistant abrown@ NULL
Brown Florida Professor college.edu
B78880 Ying Bai MTC-211 750-378-1148 Florida Atlantic Associate ybai@college. NULL
University Professor edu
B86590 Davis MTC-214 750-378-1061 University of Associate dbhalla@ NULL
Bhalla Notre Dame Professor college.edu
H99118 Jeff Henry MTC-336 750-330-8650 Ohio State Associate jhenry@ NULL
University Professor college.edu
J33486 Steve MTC-118 750-330-1116 Harvard Distinguished sjohnson@ NULL
Johnson University Professor college.edu
K69880 Jenney MTC-324 750-378-1230 East Florida Professor jking@ NULL
King University college.edu

Table 2.3 Course table.

course_id course credit classroom schedule enrollment faculty_id

CSC-131A Computers in Society 3 TC-109 M-W-F: 9:00-9:55 28 A52990

AM
CSC-131B Computers in Society 3 TC-114 M-W-F: 9:00-9:55 20 B66750
AM
CSC-131C Computers in Society 3 TC-109 T-H: 11:00-12:25 PM 25 A52990
CSC-131D Computers in Society 3 TC-109 M-W-F: 9:00-9:55 AM 30 B86590
CSC-131E Computers in Society 3 TC-301 M-W-F: 1:00-1:55 PM 25 B66750
Table 2.3 (Continued)

course_id course credit classroom schedule enrollment faculty_id

CSC-131I Computers in Society 3 TC-109 T-H: 1:00-2:25 PM 32 A52990

CSC-132A Introduction to 3 TC-303 M-W-F: 9:00- 21 J33486
Programming 9:55 AM
CSC-132B Introduction to 3 TC-302 T-H: 1:00-2:25 PM 21 B78880
Programming
CSC-230 Algorithms & Structures 3 TC-301 M-W-F: 1:00-1:55 PM 20 A77587
CSC-232A Programming I 3 TC-305 T-H: 11:00-12:25 PM 28 B66750
CSC-232B Programming I 3 TC-303 T-H: 11:00-12:25 PM 17 A77587
CSC-233A Introduction to 3 TC-302 M-W-F: 9:00-9:55 18 H99118
Algorithms AM
CSC-233B Introduction to Algorithms 3 TC-302 M-W-F: 11:00- 19 K69880
11:55 AM
CSC-234A Data Structure & 3 TC-302 M-W-F: 9:00- 25 B78880
Algorithms 9:55 AM
CSC-234B Data Structure & 3 TC-114 T-H: 11:00-12:25 PM 15 J33486
Algorithms
CSC-242 Programming II 3 TC-303 T-H: 1:00-2:25 PM 18 A52990
CSC-320 Object Oriented 3 TC-301 T-H: 1:00-2:25 PM 22 B66750
Programming
CSC-331 Applications Programming 3 TC-109 T-H: 11:00-12:25 PM 28 H99118
CSC-333A Computer Arch & 3 TC-301 M-W-F: 10:00- 22 A77587
Algorithms 10:55 AM
CSC-333B Computer Arch & 3 TC-302 T-H: 11:00-12:25 PM 15 A77587
Algorithms
CSC-335 Internet Programming 3 TC-303 M-W-F: 1:00-1:55PM 25 B66750
CSC-432 Discrete Algorithms 3 TC-206 T-H: 11:00-12:25 PM 20 B86590
CSC-439 Database Systems 3 TC-206 M-W-F: 1:00-1:55 PM 18 B86590
CSE-138A Introduction to CSE 3 TC-301 T-H: 1:00-2:25 PM 15 A52990
CSE-138B Introduction to CSE 3 TC-109 T-H: 1:00-2:25 PM 35 J33486
CSE-330 Digital Logic Circuits 3 TC-305 M-W-F: 9:00- 26 K69880
9:55 AM
CSE-332 Foundations of 3 TC-305 T-H: 1:00-2:25 PM 24 K69880
Semiconductors
CSE-334 Elec. Measurement & 3 TC-212 T-H: 11:00-12:25 PM 25 H99118
Design
CSE-430 Bioinformatics in 3 TC-206 Thu: 9:30-11:00 AM 16 B86590
Computer
CSE-432 Analog Circuits Design 3 TC-309 M-W-F: 2:00-2:55 PM 18 K69880
CSE-433 Digital Signal Processing 3 TC-206 T-H: 2:00-3:25 PM 18 H99118
CSE-434 Advanced Electronics 3 TC-213 M-W-F: 1:00-1:55 PM 26 B78880
Systems
CSE-436 Automatic Control and 3 TC-305 M-W-F: 10:00-10:55 29 J33486
Design AM
CSE-437 Operating Systems 3 TC-303 T-H: 1:00-2:25 PM 17 A77587
CSE-438 Advd Logic & 3 TC-213 M-W-F: 11:00-11:55 35 B78880
Microprocessor AM
CSE-439 Special Topics in CSE 3 TC-206 M-W-F: 10:00- 22 J33486
10:55 AM
Table 2.4 Student table.

student_id student_name gpa credits major schoolYear email simage

A78835 Andrew Woods 3.26 108 Computer Science Senior [email protected] NULL
A97850 Ashly Jade 3.57 116 Information System Junior [email protected] NULL
Engineering
B92996 Blue Valley 3.52 102 Computer Science Senior [email protected] NULL
H10210 Holes Smith 3.87 78 Computer Sophomore [email protected] NULL
Engineering
T77896 Tom Erica 3.95 127 Computer Science Senior [email protected] NULL

Table 2.5 StudentCourse table.

s_course_id student_id course_id credit major

1000 H10210 CSC-131D 3 CE

1001 B92996 CSC-132A 3 CS/IS
1002 T77896 CSC-335 3 CS/IS
1003 A78835 CSC-331 3 CE
1004 H10210 CSC-234B 3 CE
1005 T77896 CSC-234A 3 CS/IS
1006 B92996 CSC-233A 3 CS/IS
1007 A78835 CSC-132A 3 CE
1008 A78835 CSE-432 3 CE
1009 A78835 CSE-434 3 CE
1010 T77896 CSC-439 3 CS/IS
1011 H10210 CSC-132A 3 CE
1012 H10210 CSC-331 2 CE
1013 A78835 CSC-335 3 CE
1014 A78835 CSE-438 3 CE
1015 T77896 CSC-432 3 CS/IS
1016 A97850 CSC-132B 3 ISE
1017 A97850 CSC-234A 3 ISE
1018 A97850 CSC-331 3 ISE
1019 A97850 CSC-335 3 ISE
1020 T77896 CSE-439 3 CS/IS
1021 B92996 CSC-230 3 CS/IS
1022 A78835 CSE-332 3 CE
1023 B92996 CSE-430 3 CE
1024 T77896 CSC-333A 3 CS/IS
1025 H10210 CSE-433 3 CE
1026 H10210 CSE-334 3 CE
1027 B92996 CSC-131C 3 CS/IS
1028 B92996 CSC-439 3 CS/IS
 2.3 ­Sample Databas 17

Table

ID Name Ages Address Phone

1000 Tom 36 220 Ave 549-0507

Record 1002 Jim 58 101 Main 678-1002
2010 Jeff 49 25 Court 678-3211

3090 Kim 23 43 Route 202-5587

Field

Figure 2.1 Records and fields in a table.

the database as made up of relations, a database jargon for tables. It is imperative that all data
elements in the tables are represented correctly. In order to achieve these goals, designers use
various tools. The most commonly used tool is ER Model. A well-planned model will give con-
sistent results and will allow changes if needed later on. Following section further elaborates on
the ER Model.

2.3.2 Entity-Relationship (ER) Model

ER model was first proposed and developed by Peter Chen in 1976. Since then Charles Bachman
and James Martin have added some refinements, the model was designed to communicate the
database design in the form of a conceptual schema. The ER model is based on the perception that
the real world is made up of entities, their attributes, and relationships. The ER model is graphi-
cally depicted as ER diagrams (ERDs). ERDs are a major modeling tool; they graphically describe
the logical structure of the database. ER diagrams can be used with ease to construct the relational
tables and are a good vehicle for communicating the database design to the end user or a developer.
The three major components of ERD are entities, relationships, and the attributes.

2.3.2.1 Entities
An entity is a data object, either real or abstract, about which we want to collect information. For
example, we may want to collect information about a person, a place, or a thing. An entity in an ER
diagram translates into a table. It should preferably be referred to as an entity set. Some common
examples are departments, courses, and students. A single occurrence of an entity is an instance.
There are four entities in the CSE_Dept database, LogIn, Faculty, Course, and Student. Each entity
is translated into a table with the same name. An instance of the Faculty entity will be Alice Brown
and her attributes.

2.3.2.2 Relationships
A database is made up of related entities. There is a natural association between the entities; it is
referred to as relationship. For example,
●● Students take courses
●● Departments offer certain courses
●● Employees are assigned to departments
18 2 Introduction to Databases

The number of occurrences of one entity associated with single occurrence of a related entity is
referred to as cardinality.

2.3.2.3 Attributes
Each entity has properties or values called attributes associated with it. The attributes of an entity
map into fields in a table. Database Processing is one attribute of an entity called Courses. The
domain of an attribute is a set of all possible values from which an attribute can derive its value.

2.4 ­Identifying Keys

2.4.1 Primary Key and Entity Integrity

An attribute that uniquely identifies one and only one instance of an entity is called a primary key.
Sometimes a primary key consists of a combination of attributes. It is referred to as a composite key.
Entity integrity rule states that no attribute that is a member of the primary (composite) key may
accept a null value.
A faculty_id may serve as a primary key for the Faculty entity, assuming that all faculty mem-
bers have been assigned a unique FaultyID. However, caution must be exercised when picking an
attribute as a primary key. Last Name may not make a good primary key because a department is
likely to have more than one person with the same last name. Primary keys for the CSE_DEPT
database are shown in Table 2.6.
Primary keys provide a tuple level addressing mechanism in the relational databases. Once you
define an attribute as a primary key for an entity, the DBMS will enforce the uniqueness of the
primary key. Inserting a duplicate value for primary key field will fail.

Table 2.6 Faculty table.

faculty_id faculty_name title office phone college email fimage

A52990 Black Professor MTC-218 750-378- Virginia Tech banderson@ NULL

Anderson 9987 college.edu
A77587 Debby Angles Associate MTC-320 750-330- University of dangles@ NULL
Professor 2276 Chicago college.edu
B66750 Alice Brown Assistant MTC-257 750-330- University of abrown@ NULL
Professor 6650 Florida college.edu
B78880 Ying Bai Associate MTC-211 750-378- Florida ybai@college. NULL
Professor 1148 Atlantic edu
University
B86590 Davis Bhalla Associate MTC-214 750-378- University of dbhalla@ NULL
Professor 1061 Notre Dame college.edu
H99118 Jeff Henry Associate MTC-336 750-330- Ohio State jhenry@college. NULL
Professor 8650 University edu
J33486 Steve Johnson Distinguished MTC-118 750-330- Harvard sjohnson@ NULL
Professor 1116 University college.edu
K69880 Jenney King Professor MTC-324 750-378- East Florida jking@college. NULL
1230 University edu
 2.5 ­Define Relationship 19

2.4.2 Candidate Key

There can be more than one attribute which uniquely identifies an instance of an entity. These are
referred to as candidate keys. Any one of them can serve as a primary key. For example, ID Number
as well as Social Security Number may make a suitable primary key. Candidate keys that are not
used as primary key are called alternate keys.

2.4.3 Foreign Keys and Referential Integrity

Foreign keys are used to create relationships between tables. It is an attribute in one table whose
values are required to match those of primary key in another table. Foreign keys are created to
enforce referential integrity which states that you may not add a record to a table containing a
foreign key unless there is a corresponding record in the related table to which it is logically linked.
Furthermore, the referential integrity rule also implies that every value of foreign key in a table
must match the primary key of a related table or be null. MS Access also makes provision for cas-
cade update and cascade delete which imply that changes made in one of the related tables will be
reflected in the other of the two related tables.
Consider two tables Course and Faculty in the sample database, CSE_DEPT. The Course table
has a foreign key entitled faculty_id which is the primary key in the Faculty table. The two tables
are logically related through the faculty_id link. Referential integrity rules imply that we may not
add a record to the Course table with a faculty_id which is not listed in the Faculty table. In other
words, there must be a logical link between the two related tables. Second, if we change or delete
a faculty_id in the Faculty table, it must reflect in the Course table meaning that all records in the
Course table must be modified using a cascade update or cascade delete (Tables 2.7).

2.5 ­Define Relationships

2.5.1 Connectivity
Connectivity refers to the types of relationships that entities can have. Basically, it can be one-
to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many. In ER diagrams, these are indicated by placing 1, M or
N at one of the two ends of the relationship diagram. Figure illustrates the use of this
notation.

Table 2.7 Course (Partial data shown); Faculty (Partial data shown).

course_id course faculty_id faculty_id faculty_name office

CSC-132A Introduction to Programming J33486 A52990 Black Anderson MTC-218

CSC-132B Introduction to Programming B78880 A77587 Debby Angles MTC-320
CSC-230 Algorithms & Structures A77587 B66750 Alice Brown MTC-257
CSC-232A Programming I B66750 B78880 Ying Bai MTC-211
CSC-232B Programming I A77587 B86590 Davis Bhalla MTC-214
CSC-233A Introduction to Algorithms H99118 H99118 Jeff Henry MTC-336
CSC-233B Introduction to Algorithms K69880 J33486 Steve Johnson MTC-118
CSC-234A Data Structure & Algorithms B78880 K69880 Jenney King MTC-324
20 2 Introduction to Databases

●● A one-to-one (1 : 1) relationship occurs when one instance of entity A is related to only one
instance of entity B. For example, user_name in the LogIn table and user_name in the Student
table (Figure 2.2).
●● A one-to-many (1 : M) relationship occurs when one instance of entity A is associated with
zero, one, or many instances of entity B. However, entity B is associated with only one instance
of entity A. For example, one department can have many faculty members; each faculty member
is assigned to only one department. In CSE_DEPT database, One-to-many relationship is repre-
sented by faculty_id in the Faculty table and faculty_id in the Course table, student_id in the
Student table and student_id in the StudentCourse table, course_id in the Course table and
course_id in the StudentCourse table (Figure 2.3).
●● A many-to-many (M : N) relationship occurs when one instance of entity A is associated with
zero, one, or many instances of entity B. And one instance of entity B is associated with zero,
one, or many instance of entity A. For example, a student may take many courses, and one
course may be taken by more than one student (Figure 2.4).
In CSE_DEPT database, a many-to-many relationship can be realized by using the third table.
For example, in this case, the StudentCourse that works as the third table set a many-to-many
relationship between the Student and the Course tables.
This database design assumes that the course table only contains courses taught by all faculty
members in this department for one semester. Therefore, each course can only be taught by a
unique faculty. If one wants to develop a Course table that contains courses taught by all faculty in
more than one semester, the third table, say FacultyCourse table, should be created to set up a
many-to-many relationship between the Faculty and the Course table since one course may be
taught by the different faculty for the different semester.

LogIn Student
user_name pass_word user_name gpa credits student_id
ajade tryagain ajade 3.26 108 A97850
awoods smart awoods 3.57 116 A78835
bvalley see
bvalley 3.52 102 B92996
hsmith try
hsmith 3.87 78 H10210
terica excellent
terica 3.95 127 T77896

Figure 2.2 One-to-one relationship in the LogIn and the Student tables.

Faculty Course
faculty_id faculty_name office course_id course faculty_id
A52990 Black Anderson MTC-218 CSC-132A Introduction to Programming J33486
A77587 Debby Angles MTC-320 CSC-132B Introduction to Programming B78880
B66750 Alice Brown MTC-257 CSC-230 Algorithms & Structures A77587
B78880 Ying Bai MTC-211 CSC-232A Programming I B66750
B86590 Davis Bhalla MTC-214 CSC-232B Programming I A77587
H99118 Jeff Henry MTC-336 CSC-233A Introduction to Algorithms H99118
J33486 Steve Johnson MTC-118 CSC-233B Introduction to Algorithms K69880
K69880 Jenney King MTC-324 CSC-234A Data Structure & Algorithms B78880

Figure 2.3 One-to-many relationship between Faculty and Course tables.

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 “What!” roared the big lout, whom he had slightly touched upon the
arm. “Who the devil are you? Keep your hands off of me, you fool!”
The person on whom Adam looked was Gallows, whose face,
florid almost to being purple, was so savagely contorted as to
comprise an insult in itself.
“My cross-eyed friend,” retorted Adam, whose temper had risen
without delay, “have done looking at yourself, if you would see no
fool. If you will tell me which hand I put on you, I’ll cut it off, else I
may live to see it rot!”
The company had turned about at once. Pinchbecker was there,
with his satellite, Psalms Higgler, the little white-eyed scamp that
Adam had once dropped from the near-by window. The foppish
young Englishman, who owned the horse outside, was likewise in
the party. They all saw the burly Gallows turn to them hopelessly,
befuddled by Adam’s answer.
“You be a fool!” he roared again, his eyes bulging out of their
sockets in his wrath, “and I be the fool-killer!”
The company guffawed at this, the monster’s solitary sally of wit.
“You are a liar by the fact that you live,” said Rust. “Bah, you
disgust me with the thought of having the duties, which you have so
patently and outrageously neglected, thrust upon me. Begone.
There’s no fire to roast a barbecue, if I should be minded to spit you!”
The creature looked again at his fellows, who had obviously egged
him on.
“He insults you right prettily, good Gallows,” said the dandy, who
was himself a rascal banished from his own country. “But he dare not
fight you, we can see it plainly.”
“With you thrown in, I dare say there might be a moment’s sport in
a most unsavory blood-letting,” said Rust, whose hand went to his
sword-hilt calmly. “I should want some fresh air if I stuck either one of
you carrion-fed buzzards.”
Gallows knew by this that it was time to draw his blade. “You be a
fool and I be the fool-killer,” he roared as before, this being his best
hold on language to suit the occasion. Only now he came for Adam
like a butcher.
“Outside—go outside, gentlemen!” cried the landlord excitedly.
“Go outside!” said the voice of some one who was not visible. It
was Randolph, concealed in the adjoining room and watching the
proceedings through a narrow crack, where he had opened the door.
“Go on out, and I’ll fight you!” bellowed Gallows.
“After you,” said Rust, whose blade was out and being swiftly
passed under his exacting eye. “Go out first. You will need one more
breath than I.”
The brute obeyed, as if he had to do so and knew it, receiving
Adam’s order like the clod he was.
The other creatures made such a scrambling to see the show, and
otherwise evinced such an abnormal interest in the coming fight, that
Adam had no trouble in divining that the whole affair had been
prearranged, and that if he did not get killed, he would be arrested,
should he slay his opponent. He concluded he was something of a
match for the whole outfit.
“Have at you, mountain of foul meat,” he said, as he tossed down
his hat. “What a mess you will make, done in slices!”
The young dandy laughed, despite himself, from his place by the
door.
Gallows needed no further exasperations. He came marching up
to Rust and made a hack at him, mighty enough and vicious enough
to break down the stoutest guard and cleave through a man’s whole
body as well.
Rust had expected no less than such a stroke. He spared his steel
the task of parrying the Gallows’ slash. Nimbly leaping aside, he
made a motion that had something debonair in its execution, and cut
a ghastly big flap, like a steak, from the monster’s cheek.
The fellow let out an awful bellow and ran at his opponent, striking
at him like a mad Hercules.
 “Spare yourself, fool-killer,” said Adam. He dared to bow, as he
dodged a mighty onslaught, in which Gallows used his sword like a
hatchet, and then he flicked the giant’s ear away, bodily, taking
something also of his jowl, for good measure.
The great hulk stamped about there like an ox, the blood
hastening down from his face and being flung in spatters about him.
Adam next cut him deeply in the muscle of his great left arm.
“I warm to my work,” he said, as he darted actively away and back.
“Gentlemen, is your choice for a wing or a leg of the ill-smelling
bird?”
The dandy, fresh from England, guffawed and cried “Bravo!” He
had been born a gentleman, in spite of himself.
The fight was a travesty on equality. The monster was absolutely
helpless. He was simply a vast machine for butchery, but he must
needs first catch his victim before he could perform his offices. He
was a terrible sight, with his great sword raised on high, or ripping
downward through the air, as he ran, half blinded by his own gore, to
catch the rover, who played with him, slicing him handily, determined
not to kill the beast and so to incur a penalty for murder.
The creatures inside the tavern, appalled by the exhibition they
had brought about, saw that their monster was soon to be a
staggering tower of blood and wounds.
“Don’t let him get away! Kill him! Kill him!” said the voice of
Randolph, from behind the others.
Adam heard him. He saw Pinchbecker shrink back at once.
Psalms Higgler, however, glad of an excuse and ready to take
advantage of a man already sufficiently beset, came scrambling out.
The foppish gentleman was too much of a sport to take a hand
against such a single swordsman as he found in Rust.
Aware that he was to have no chance, and convinced abruptly that
these wretches had plotted to kill him, Adam deftly avoided Gallows,
as the dreadful brute came again upon him, and slashing the fellow’s
leg behind the knee, ham-strung him instantly.
 Roaring like a wounded bull, the creature dropped down on his
side, and then got upon his hands and knees and commenced to
crawl, wiping out his eyes with his reddened hands.
Unable to restrain his rage, and fearing his intended victim would
yet avoid him, Higgler being already at bay and disarmed, Randolph
came abruptly out from the tavern himself, pistol in hand, to perform
the task which otherwise was doomed to failure.
“Call the guard!” he cried. “Call the guard!”
Adam had been waiting for some such treachery. He cut at the
pistol the second it rose, knocking it endways and slicing Randolph’s
arm, superficially, from near the wrist to the elbow. He waited then
for nothing more.
Across the road, before any one guessed his intention, he was up
on the back of the horse, before the yelled protest of the English
gentleman came to his ears.
“Gentlemen all,” he called to the group, “good evening.”
Clapping his heels to the ribs of the restive animal, he rode madly
away, just as Isaiah Pinchbecker, with half a dozen constables came
running frantically upon the scene.
 CHAPTER XXXI.

A REFUGEE.

Irresponsibly joyous, thus to be in a saddle, on a spirited horse,

Rust was soon dashing across the common and turning about like a
centaur, for ease and grace, glanced back to see who might be
joining in the race. His naked sword was still in his hand. It was red
from point to hilt. He wiped it on the horse, thereby causing the
animal to plunge and to run in a frenzy of nervousness.
Adam chortled. The affair from beginning to end, from his present
standpoint, appealed to his sense of humor. The consequences of
his adventure would be presented to his mind soon enough. He
merely knew now that he had won out of a tight corner, as a
gentleman should, that a glorious animal was bounding beneath him
and, that sweet night air came rushing upon him as if it opened its
arms to receive him.
Aware that he would soon be pursued, and mentally
acknowledging that the horse was not his own, he rode to a farm-
house about a mile or so out from the town, and there dismounted.
Reluctantly he said farewell to the charger, bidding the farmer have
the animal returned to Boston in the morning, with his thanks and
compliments. For the service he presented the wondering man with
a piece of silver, the last he had of the small amount left him after
paying the fares of the beef-eaters up to Massachusetts.
 Coolly inviting himself to have a bite of the farmer’s scanty supper,
he bade the man good night, about five minutes before the mounted
constables came riding hotly to the place. He even heard them,
when they left the farm and began to scour the woods to jump him
up. At this he smiled with rare good humor, confident of the powers
of superior wood-craft to baffle anybody or anything in all
Massachusetts, save alone an Indian.
Understanding all the delighted chucklings of the forest as he did,
he felt at once secure among the trees, as one of the family.
Moreover he loved to be wandering in the woods at night. He
continued to walk, on and on, beginning to wonder at last what he
really intended to do. Then, at the thought of Garde, who might be
expecting to see him, and whom he very much desired again to see,
he waxed somewhat impatient with this enforced flight from the town
where she was.
The more he thought upon it, then, the more impossible it seemed
for him to return. Against Randolph, enthroned in power, and against
all his wretched disciples, he could not expect to breathe a word
which would avail to get him justice. It would be sheer madness to
make the attempt. The creatures would charge him with all the
crimes on the calendar, and, swearing all to one statement, would
convict him of anything they chose. The whole affair had been
planned to beat him, or worse, and to a galling extent it had quite
succeeded. He was balked, completely and absolutely, in
whatsoever direction his meditations turned. To try to see Garde
would be fairly suicidal. Not to see her, especially after his promises,
would be, to a man so much in love as he, a living death.
And again, the beef-eaters. What was to become of his faithful
retinue? They would arrive there, only to find that he had again
deserted them, leaving them wholly at the mercy of Randolph and
his jackals. These demons would not be slow at recognizing who
and what Pike and Halberd were, from episodes of the past. The two
would go straight into the lion’s mouth, at the Crow and Arrow.
He thought at first of going to Plymouth. He could write to Garde
from there, he reflected, and also to Halberd and Pike. But he soon
concluded that this would be to walk merely into the other end of the
enemy’s trap, for no good or comforting purpose. New York
presented itself as a jurisdiction where Randolph’s arm would have
no power to do him harm. But New York was a long way off. If he
went there, not only would he miss seeing Garde, but he could not
warn his retinue in time to keep them out of Randolph’s clutches.
The business was maddening. He began to think, as a
consequence of dwelling on the hopelessness of his own situation,
that Randolph would be aiming next at Garde herself, in wreaking his
dastardly vengeance for his past defeats. This was intolerable. He
halted, there in the dark woods, swaying between the good sense of
hiding and the nonsense of going straight back to the town, to carry
Garde away from the harpies, bodily.
A picture of old David Donner, stricken, helpless, a child, arose in
his mind, to confront him and to mock his Quixotic scheme. He could
not carry both Garde and her grandfather away to New York, nor
even to the woods. He was penniless. This was not the only
obstacle, even supposing Donner would consent so to flee, which
was not at all likely.
It was also certain that Garde would not permit him to carry her off
and leave the old man behind. But at least, he finally thought, he
could go back to the town and be near, to protect her, if occasion
should require a sword and a ready wit. Could he but manage to do
this—to go there secretly and remain there unknown—he could
gather his beef-eaters about him and together they could and would
combat an army!
But how to go back and be undetected, that was the question. In
the first place he despised the idea of doing anything that did not
smack of absolute boldness and fearlessness. Yet Boston was a
seething whirlpool of Randolph’s power, at this time. Simply to be
caught like a rat and killed like a pest would add nothing of glory to
his name, nor could it materially add to Garde’s happiness and
safety.
Driven into a corner of his brain, as it were, by all these moves and
counter-moves on the chess-board of the situation, he presently
conceived a plan which made him hug himself in sheer delight.
He would simply disguise himself as an Indian and go to town to
make a treaty with Randolph, the Big-man-afraid-to-be-chief.
This so tickled his fancy that, had an Indian settlement been near
at hand, he would have been inside his buckskins and war-paint and
back to Boston ahead of the constables themselves. In such a guise,
he told himself, he could manage to see his sweetheart, he could get
his beef-eaters clear of danger, baffle his foes, and arrange to carry
both Garde and her grandfather away to safety.
But the first consideration was, where should he find an Indian?
He was aware that the Red men had been pushed backward and
westward miles from the towns of the whites. It was years since he
had roamed through the forests and mountains——years since he
had known where his old-time, red brothers built their lodges. There
could be but one means of finding a camp, namely: to walk onward,
to penetrate fairly to the edge of the wilderness beyond.
Nothing daunted by the thought of distance, he struck out for the
west. Like the Indians themselves, he could smell the points of the
sunrise and sunset, unerringly. With boyish joy in his thoughts, and
in the dreams he fashioned of the hair-breadth events that would
happen when he arrived in the town in his toggery, he plodded along
all night, happy once more and contented.
 CHAPTER XXXII.

A FOSTER PARENT.

Adam covered many a mile before the morning. Mindless of his

hunger, spurred by the thought that he must soon be back in Boston,
he felt that the further he went the more he must hasten. Thus he
marched straight on till noon.
He rested briefly at this time, filled his craving stomach with water,
and again made a start. In fifteen minutes he came upon a clearing,
at the edge of a little valley where up-jutting rocks were as plentiful
as houses in a city. Pausing for a moment, to ascertain the nature of
the place, and to prepare himself against possible surprise, he
presently approached a small log hut, of more than usually rude
construction.
There appeared to be no signs whatsoever of life about the place.
No smoke ascended from the chimney; there was no animal in sight,
not even so much as a dog.
Adam glanced hurriedly about the acre or so of land, beholding
evidences of recent work. A tree had been felled, not far away, within
the week. In a neat little patch of tilled soil, green corn stood two feet
high and growing promisingly.
Going to the cabin-door he knocked first and gave it a push
afterward, for it was not latched, although it was nearly closed. There
being no response from the inside, he entered. The light entered with
him. It revealed a strange and dreadful scene.
On the floor lay a man, dressed, half raised on his elbow, looking
up at the visitor with staring eyes, while he moved his lips without
making a sound. A few feet away sat a little brown baby-boy, clothed
only in a tiny shirt. He looked up at big Adam wistfully. Strewn about
were a few utensils for cooking, a bag which had once contained
flour, the dust of which was in patches everywhere, and an empty
water-bucket and dipper, with all the bedding and blankets from a
rude wooden bunk, built against the wall.
In amazement Adam stood looking at the man. In the haggard
face, with its unkempt beard and glassy eyes he fancied he saw
something familiar. Memory knocked to enter his brain. Then, with a
suddenness that gave him a shock, he recognized a man he had
known in England—an elder brother of Henry Wainsworth, supposed
to have died years before—drowned while attempting to escape from
an unjust sentence of imprisonment for treason.
“Wainsworth!” he said, “good faith! what is the meaning of this?”
The man sank back on the floor, a ghost of a smile passing across
his face. He moved his lips again, but Adam heard not a word.
Bending quickly down, he became aware that the man was
begging for water. He caught up the bucket and hastened forth,
presently finding the spring, to which a little path had been worn in
the grass.
Back at once, he placed the dipper to the dried-out lips and saw
this fellow-being drink with an evidence of joy such as can only come
to the dying. Wainsworth shivered a little, as the dipper left his teeth,
and jerked his hand toward the silent child, sitting so near, on the
floor. Adam comprehended. He gave more of the water to the small,
brown baby. It patted the dipper with its tiny hands and looked up at
him dumbly.
“What in the world has happened here?” said Rust.
Making a mighty effort, the man on the floor partially raised his
head and arms. He looked at Adam with a hungering light in his
eyes. “I’m—done—for,” he said, thickly and feebly.
Adam hustled together the blankets on the floor and made a
pillow, which he placed for Wainsworth to lie on. “Shall I put you into
the bed?” he asked.
The man shook his head. “I’m crushed,” he said, winking from his
eyes the already gathering film that tells of the coming end. “Tree—
fell—killed the—wife. I—crawled—here.”
Adam looked at him helplessly. He knew the man was dying. He
felt what agonies the man must have suffered. “Man!” he said, “can’t
I get you something to eat?”
Wainsworth waved his hand toward the wreckage strewed on the
floor. “Nothing—here,” he said. Then he made a great effort, the
obvious rally of his strength. “Save the—boy,” he implored. “Give him
a—chance.... Don’t—tell—about me. I married—his mother—
Narragansett—God bless—her.... Give—him—a—chance....
Thanks.”
As he mentioned the child’s mother, his eyes gave up two tears—
crystals, which might have represented his soul, for it had quietly
escaped from his broken body.
Adam, kneeling above him, looked for a moment at his still face,
on which the shadow of a smile rested. Then he looked at the little,
brown youngster, half Narragansett Indian, gazing up in his
countenance with a timid, questioning look, winking his big black
eyes slowly, and quite as deliberately moving his tiny toes.
It was not a situation to be thought out nor coped with easily. To
have found any human being in this terrible plight would have been
enough, but to have found Henry Wainsworth’s brother thus, and to
have him tell such a brief, shocking story, and make of his visitor all
the things which Adam would have to become at once, was enough
to make him stand there wondering and wondering upon it all.
“You poor little rascal,” he said to the child, at last.
He selected a shovel and a pick, from some tools which he noted,
in a corner, and laying aside his sword, he went to work, on the
preface to his duties, out by the patch of corn where he found the
pretty, young Indian mother, clasped and held down to earth in an all
too ardent embrace, by an arm of the fallen tree.
When he had padded up the mound over the two closed human
volumes, he was faint with hunger. He carried the tools again to the
house, and stood as before, looking at the baby-boy, who still sat
where he had left him, on the floor.
“Well, I suppose you are hungry, you little brown man,” he said. “I
must see what there is to be had.”
There was little opportunity for extended explorations. The one
room had contained the all of Wainsworth and his Narragansett
partner. Rust soon found himself wondering what the two had lived
upon. What flour and meal there had been, the man, despite his two
crushed legs, had pulled down, from a box-like cupboard, on the
wall, together with a bit of dried meat. Of the latter only a dry
fragment remained, still tied to a string, while of the meal and flour,
only the empty bags gave evidence that they once had existed.
There was no way possible for Adam to know that in the forest, not
far away, the lone woodsman had set his traps, for squirrels and
rabbits, nor that fifteen minutes’ walk from the door a trout stream
had furnished its quota to the daily fare. He only knew that there was
nothing edible to be found here now. There was salt, a bit of grease,
on a clean white chip of pine, and a half gourd, filled with broken-up
leaves, which had doubtless been steeped for some manner of tea
or drink.
“Partner,” he said, to the child, “someone has been enforcing
sumptuary laws upon us. I hesitate in deciding whether we shall take
our water salted or fresh.”
With his hand on the hilt of his sword he regarded the youngster
earnestly. Nothing prettier than the little naked fellow could have
been imagined, howbeit he was not so plump as a child of his age
should be, for the lack of nourishment had already told upon him
markedly. Adam felt convinced, from various indications, that the tree
which had done its deadly work had fallen about a week before, and
that Wainsworth had not been able to do anything more than to crawl
to the cabin, to die, neither for himself or the child.
For a time the rover wondered what he must do. His own plans
had nearly disappeared from his mind. He reflected that a child so
brown as this, so obviously half a little Narragansett, would be ill
received by the whites. The Indians would be far more likely to
cherish the small man, according to his worth. He therefore believed
the best thing he could do would be to push onward, in the hope of
finding an Indian settlement soon. There were several reasons, still
remaining unaltered, why it would be wiser not to take the child to
Boston.
“Well, our faces are dirty, partner,” he said, at the end of a long
cogitation, in which the baby had never ceased to look up in his
countenance and wink his big eyes, wistfully. “Let’s go out and have
a bath.”
He took the tiny chap up in his arms and carried him forth to the
spring. Here, in the warm sunlight, he got down on his knees in the
grass, bathed his protégé, over and over again, for the pleasure it
seemed to give the child and the joy it was to himself, to feel the little
wet, naked fellow in his hands.
The sun performed the offices of a towel. Without putting his tiny
shirt back upon him, Adam rolled the small bronze bit of humanity
about his back, patting his velvety arms and thighs and laughing like
the grown-up boy he was, till the little chap gurgled and crowed in
tremendous delight. But it having been only the freshness of the
water, air and sunlight which had somewhat invigorated the baby, he
presently appeared to grow a little dull and weary. Adam became
aware that it was time to be moving. He washed out the child’s wee
shirt and hung it through his belt to dry as they went. Then taking a
light blanket from the cabin, for the child’s use at night, he left the
cabin behind and proceeded onward as before.
He walked till late in the afternoon without discovering so much as
a sign of the Indian settlement he was seeking. By this time his own
pangs of hunger had become excruciating. It was still too early in the
summer for berries or nuts to be ripe, and the half green things
which he found where the sun shone the warmest were in no
manner fit to be offered to the child, as food.
Arriving at another small valley, as the sun was dipping into the
western tree-tops, the rover sat down for a rest, and to plan
something better than this random wandering toward the sunset. He
had chuckled encouragement to the child from time to time, laughing
in the little fellow’s face, but hardly had he caught at the subtle signs
on the small face, at which a mother-parent would have stared wild-
eyed in agony.
Now, however, as he sat the tiny man on the grass before him, he
saw in the baby’s eyes such a look as pierced him to the quick. For a
moment the infinite wistfulness, the dumb questioning, the
uncomplaining silence of it, made him think, or hope, the child was
only sad. He got down on all fours at once.
“Partner,” said he, jovially, “you are disappointed in me. I make
poor shift as a mother. Do you want to be cuddled, or would you
rather be tickled?”
He laid the little chap gently on his back and tried to repeat the
frolic of the earlier hours. He rolled the small bronze body in the
grass, as before, and petted him fondly. But the baby merely winked
his eyes. He seemed about to cry, but he made no sound. Adam’s
fingers ceased their play, for the joy departed from them swiftly.
“Maybe you’re tired and sleepy,” he crooned. “Shall I put on your
shirt and sing you a little Indian lullaby? Yes? That’s what he wants,
little tired scamp.”
He adjusted the abbreviated shirt, awkwardly, but tenderly, after
which he held his partner in his arms and hummed and sang the
words of a Wampanoag song, which he had heard in his boyhood,
times without number. The song started with addresses to some of
the elements, thus:
 “Little Brook, it is night,
Be quiet, and let my baby sleep.

“Little wind, it is night,

Go away, and let my baby sleep.

“Little storm, it is night,

Be still, and let my baby sleep.

“Little wolf, it is night,

Howl not, and let my baby sleep.”

and after many verses monotonously soothing, came an

incantation:

“Great Spirit, I place my babe

Upon the soft fur of thy breast,
Knowing Thou wilt protect,
As I cannot protect;
And therefore, oh Great Spirit,
Guard my child in slumber.”

Adam sang this song like a pleading. But his little partner could not
sleep, or feared to sleep. Then the rover looked at the tiny face and
realized that the child would soon be dying of starvation. At this he
started to his feet, abruptly.
He had undergone the pains of hunger often, himself; he was not
impatient now with the pangs in his stomach, nor the weakness in
his muscles. But he could not bear the thought of the child so
perishing, here in the wilderness.
He saw poor Wainsworth again, and heard him beg that the child
be given a chance. He thought of the man’s shattered life, his
escape from persecution, his isolation, in which he had preferred the
society of his Indian wife and child to association with his kind. Then
he blamed himself for coming further into this deserted region, when
he knew that by going back, at least he could find something for the
child to eat—something that would save its life!
But he could not forget that he himself was a refugee. Wrongly or
rightly, Randolph was still on his track. Nothing in his own case had
been altered, but the case was no longer one concerning himself
alone. He took the child on his arm, where he had carried him
already many miles, and faced about.
“Partner, let them take me,” he said. “I wish them joy of it.”
He started back for Boston, for in the child’s present extremity, the
nearest place where he could be sure of finding food was the only
one worthy a thought.
 CHAPTER XXXIII.

REPUDIATED SILVER.

Sometime, along toward the middle of the night, Adam tripped, on

a root which lay in his path, and in catching himself so that his small
partner should not be injured, he sprained his foot. He proceeded
onward without sparing the member, however, for he had begun to
feel a fever of impatience.
His foot swelled. It finally pained him excessively, so that he
limped. He wore away the night, but when the morning came, he
was obliged to snatch an hour of sleep, so great was the sense of
exhaustion come upon him.
His face had become pale. With his hair unkempt, his eyes
expressive of the fever in his veins and his mouth somewhat drawn,
he was not a little haggard, as he resumed his lame, onward march.
The child in his arms was no burden to his enduring strength, but as
a load on his heart the little chap was heavy indeed. Sleeping, the
miniature man appeared to be sinking in a final rest, so wan had his
tiny face become. Waking, he gazed at Adam with such a dumb
inquiry ever present in his great, wistful eyes, that Rust began to
wish he would complain—would cry, would make some little sound to
break his baby silence.
They were obliged to rest frequently, throughout the day. Try as he
might, Adam could not cover the ground rapidly. Whenever he
resumed walking, after sitting for a moment on a log, or a rock, he