Module 2 Relational Algebra 25-08-2023

DATA QUERY LANGUAGES

 Query languages, often known as DQLs or Data Query Languages, are computer languages that are
used to make various queries in information systems and databases.
 A query language is a language in which user requests information from the database.
 Procedural Query Language: User instructs the
system to perform a sequence of operations on the Query Language
database to compute the desired result.
For Example: Relational algebra
Structure Query language (SQL) is based on Procedural Non-procedural
relational algebra.
 Non-procedural Query Language: Information is
Relational Algebra Relational Calculus
retrieved from the database without specifying the
sequence of operation to be performed. Users only
specify what information is to be retrieved. PL SQL Domain Tuple
For Example: Relational Calculus
Query by Example (QBE) is based on Relational
calculus

RELATIONAL ALGEBRA
 Relational Algebra came in 1970 and was given by Edgar F. Codd (Father of DBMS). It is also known
as Procedural Query Language(PQL) as in PQL, a programmer/user has to mention two
things, "What to Do" and "How to Do".
 Relational algebra: It is a collection of operations to manipulate relations.
 Relational Algebra is a procedural query language. It consists of a set of operations that take one or
two relations a input and produce a new relation as their result.
 It specifies the operations to be performed on existing relations to derive the result relations.
 Relational Algebra are usually divided into two groups.
 Mathematical Set Operations e.g. Union, Intersection, Set Difference, Cartesian Product.
 Relational Database Operations e.g. Select, Project, Rename, Join, Assignment.

Prepared by: Dr. Mukesh Bathre 1

Module 2 Relational Algebra 25-08-2023

RELATIONAL ALGEBRA

Relational Algebra

Set Operations Relational Database Set Functions

 Union Sum
 Select Avg
 Intersection
 Rename Count
 Set difference
 Project Min
 Cartesian Product
⋈ Join Max
 Division Any

RELATIONAL ALGEBRA
 Select: It returns a relation containing all tuples from specified relation that satisfy a condition.
 Project: It returns a relation containing all tuples that remain in a specified relation after specified
attributes have been removed.
 Product: It returns a new relation that is an outcome of concatenation (that is chaining) of each tuple
of one relation with each tuple of another relation.
 Join: It returns a relation containing all possible tuples that are a combination of two tuples, one from
each of two specified relations such as the two tuples contributing to a given combination have a
common value for the common attributes of the two relations.
 Union: It returns a relation containing all tuples that appear in either or both of two specified
relations.
 Intersect: It returns a relation containing all tuples that appear in both of two specified relations.
 Difference: It returns a relation containing all tuples that appear in the first not in second of the two
specified relations.
 Divide: The division operator is used when we have to evaluate queries which contain the keyword
‘all’. It permits to find values in an attribute of R that have all values of S in the attribute of the same
name.

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Module 2 Relational Algebra 25-08-2023

RELATIONAL ALGEBRA

RELATIONAL ALGEBRA
 Select Operator (): It returns a relation containing all tuples from specified relation that satisfy a
condition. It is denoted by sigma (σ).
 Syntax: 𝜎 𝑅
σ is used for selection prediction
R is used for relation
p is used as a propositional logic formula which may use connectors like: AND (), OR (), NOT
(). These relational can use as relational operators like =, ≠, ≥, <, >, ≤.
 Examples-
 Select tuples from a relation “Books” where subject is “database”
σsubject = “database” (Books)
 Select tuples from a relation “Books” where subject is “database” and price is “450”
σsubject = “database” ∧ price = “450” (Books)
 Select tuples from a relation “Books” where subject is “database” and price is “450” or have a
publication year after 2010
σsubject = “database” ∧ price = “450” ∨ year >”2010″ (Books)

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Module 2 Relational Algebra 25-08-2023

RELATIONAL ALGEBRA
Points to be remembered for Select operator
 We may use logical operators like ∧ , ∨ , ! and relational operators like = , ≠ , > , < , <= , >= with the
selection condition.
 Selection operator only selects the required tuples according to the selection condition.
 Selection operator always selects the entire tuple. It can not select a section or part of a tuple.
 Selection operator is commutative in nature i.e.
σ A ∧ B (R) = σ B ∧ A (R)
 Degree of the relation from a selection operation is same as degree of the input relation.
 The number of rows returned by a selection operation is obviously less than or equal to the number
of rows in the original table.
Thus,
Minimum Cardinality = 0
Maximum Cardinality = |R|

RELATIONAL ALGEBRA
 Project Operator (π) is a unary operator in relational algebra that performs a projection operation.
 It displays the columns of a relation or table based on the specified attributes.
Syntax: π<attribute list>(R)
ID Name Subject Age
 Example-
100 Ashish Maths 19
Consider the following Student relation
200 Rahul Science 20
300 Naina Physics 20
400 Sameer Chemistry 21

Name Age ID Name

Ashish 19 100 Ashish
πName, Age(Student) πID , Name(Student)
Rahul 20 200 Rahul
Naina 20 300 Naina
Sameer 21 400 Sameer

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Module 2 Relational Algebra 25-08-2023

RELATIONAL ALGEBRA
Points to be remembered for Project Operator
 The degree of output relation (number of columns present) is equal to the number of attributes
mentioned in the attribute list.
 Projection operator automatically removes all the duplicates while projecting the output relation. So,
cardinality of the original relation and output relation may or may not be same. If there are no
duplicates in the original relation, then the cardinality will remain same otherwise it will surely reduce.
 If attribute list is a super key on relation R, then we will always get the same number of tuples in the
output relation. This is because then there will be no duplicates to filter.
 Projection operator does not obey commutative property i.e.
π <list2> (π <list1> (R)) ≠ π <list1> (π <list2> (R))
 Selection Operator performs horizontal partitioning of the relation. Projection operator performs
vertical partitioning of the relation.
 There is only one difference between Project and Select operation of SQL. Projection operator does
not allow duplicates while SELECT operation allows duplicates. To avoid duplicates in SQL, we use
“distinct” keyword and write SELECT distinct. Thus, projection operator of relational algebra is
equivalent to SELECT operation of SQL.

RELATIONAL ALGEBRA
 Product: The Cartesian product is used to combine each row in one table with each row in the other
table. It is also known as a cross product. It is denoted by X.
Syntax: R X S
 Example-
Consider the following relations
Employee Employee X Department
EMP_ID EMP_NAME EMP_DEPT DEPT_NO DEPT_NAME
DEPT_NO DEPT_NAME
1 Smith A A Marketing
A Marketing
1 Smith A B Sales
B Sales
1 Smith A C Legal
C Legal
2 Harry C A Marketing
Department
2 Harry C B Sales
EMP_ID EMP_NAME EMP_DEPT
2 Harry C C Legal
1 Smith A
3 John B A Marketing
2 Harry C
3 John B B Sales
3 John B
3 John B C Legal

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Module 2 Relational Algebra 25-08-2023

RELATIONAL ALGEBRA
 Union Operator (∪): It returns a relation containing all tuples that appear in either or both of two
specified relations.
Let R and S be two relations.
Then-
 R ∪ S is the set of all tuples belonging to either R or S or both.
 In R ∪ S, duplicates are automatically removed.
 Union operation is both commutative and associative.
 Example-
Consider the following two relations R and S

Relation R Relation S Relation R ∪ S

ID Name Subject ID Name Subject ID Name Subject
100 Ankit English 100 Ankit English 100 Ankit English
200 Pooja Maths 400 Kajol French 200 Pooja Maths
300 Komal Science 300 Komal Science
400 Kajol French

RELATIONAL ALGEBRA
 Intersection Operator (∩): It returns a relation containing all tuples that appear in both of two
specified relations.
Let R and S be two relations.
Then-
 R ∩ S is the set of all tuples belonging to both R and S.
 In R ∩ S, duplicates are automatically removed.
 Intersection operation is both commutative and associative.
 Example-
Consider the following two relations R and S

Relation R Relation S Relation R ∩ S

ID Name Subject ID Name Subject ID Name Subject
100 Ankit English 100 Ankit English 100 Ankit English
200 Pooja Maths 400 Kajol French
300 Komal Science

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RELATIONAL ALGEBRA
 Difference Operator (-): It returns a relation containing all tuples that appear in the first not in
second of the two specified relations.
Let R and S be two relations.
Then-
 R – S is the set of all tuples belonging to R and not to S.
 In R – S, duplicates are automatically removed.
 Difference operation is associative but not commutative.
 Example-
Consider the following two relations R and S

Relation R Relation S Relation R - S

ID Name Subject ID Name Subject ID Name Subject
100 Ankit English 100 Ankit English 200 Pooja Maths
200 Pooja Maths 400 Kajol French 300 Komal Science
300 Komal Science

RELATIONAL ALGEBRA
 Division Operation is represented by "division"(÷ or /) operator and is used in queries that involve
keywords "every", "all", etc.
Syntax : R(X,Y)/S(Y)
Here,
 R is the first relation from which data is retrieved.
 S is the second relation that will help to retrieve the data.
 X and Y are the attributes/columns present in relation. We can have multiple attributes in relation,
but keep in mind that attributes of S must be a proper subset of attributes of R.
 For each corresponding value of Y, the above notation will return us the value of X from
tuple<X,Y> which exists everywhere.
 It's a bit difficult to understand this in a theoretical way, but you will understand this with an example.
 Let's have two relations, ENROLLED and COURSE. ENROLLED consist of two attributes STUDENT_ID
and COURSE_ID. It denotes the map of students who are enrolled in given courses.
 COURSE contains the list of courses available.
 See, here attributes/columns of COURSE relation are a proper subset of attributes/columns of
ENROLLED relation. Hence Division operation can be used here.

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Module 2 Relational Algebra 25-08-2023

RELATIONAL ALGEBRA
Query 1: STUDENT_ID of students who are enrolled in every course.
ENROLLED(STUDENT_ID, COURSE_ID)  COURSE(COURSE_ID)
ENROLLED COURSE
STUDENT_ID COURSE_ID COURSE_ID ENROLLED  COURSE
Student_1 DBMS DBMS STUDENT_ID
Student_2 DBMS  OS Student_1
Student_1 OS

Query 2: Retrieve the name of subject that is taught in all courses.

SUBJECT(NAME, COURSE)  COURSE(COURSE)

SUBJECT COURSE
NAME COURSE COURSE SUBJECT  COURSE
Systems BCS BCS NAME
Database BCS  MCS Database
Database MCS
Algebra MCS

RELATIONAL ALGEBRA
 Join Operation: It returns a relation containing all possible tuples that are a combination of two
tuples, one from each of two specified relations such as the two tuples contributing to a given
combination have a common value for the common attributes of the two relations.
 Join Operation in DBMS are binary operations that allow us to combine two or more relations.
 They are further classified into two types: Inner Join, and Outer Join.

JOIN

INNER JOIN SELF JOIN OUTER JOIN CROSS JOIN

Theta Left Outer

Equi Right Outer

Natural Full Outer

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Module 2 Relational Algebra 25-08-2023

RELATIONAL ALGEBRA
 Inner Join: When we perform Inner Join, only those tuples returned that satisfy the certain
condition. It is also classified into three types: Theta Join, Equi Join and Natural Join.
 Theta Join (θ): Theta Join combines two relations using a condition. This condition is represented
by the symbol "theta"(θ). Here conditions can be inequality conditions such as >,<,>=,<=, etc.
Notation : R ⋈θ S, Where R is the first relation, S is the second relation, and θ is the condition.

Let there be a database of all the class 12th boys students in a school. Let's understand Theta Join
with the Boys and Interest tables used above :
Boys Interest
ID Name Percentage % ID Name Gender Sport
1 Rohan 56 3 Amit M Cricket
2 Rohit 85 23 Aman M Chess
3 Amit 75 5 Saiz M Cricket
4 Ravi 79 10 Shreya F Badminton
5 Saiz 65 6 Tejan M Chess
6 Tejan 84 15 Sakshi F Chess
7 Rishabh 75 2 Rohit M Cricket

RELATIONAL ALGEBRA
Theta Join -
Boys ⋈(Boys.ID = Interest.ID and Interest.Sport = Chess and Boys.Percentage > 70) Interest

So the condition here is

Boys.ID = Interest.ID and Interest.Sport = Chess and Boys.Percentage > 70

so while performing join, we will have to check this condition every time two rows are joined.

Boys Interest
ID Name Percentage % ID Name Gender Sport
1 Rohan 56 3 Amit M Cricket Boys ⋈θ Interest
2 Rohit 85 23 Aman M Chess
ID Name Percentage Gender Sport
3 Amit 75 5 Saiz M Cricket
2 Rohit 85 M Cricket
4 Ravi 79 10 Shreya F Badminton
3 Amit 75 M Cricket
5 Saiz 65 6 Tejan M Chess
6 Tejan 84 M Chess
6 Tejan 84 15 Sakshi F Chess
7 Rishabh 75 2 Rohit M Cricket

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Module 2 Relational Algebra 25-08-2023

RELATIONAL ALGEBRA
Equi join is same as Theta Join, but the only condition is it only uses equivalence condition while
performing join between two tables.
A ⋈(... = ...) B, where (... = ... ) is the equivalence condition on any of the attributes of the joining table.
In the above example, what if we are told to find out all the students of class 12th who have interest in
chess only?

We can perform Equi join as :

Equi join: Boys ⋈(Boys.ID = Interset.ID and Interest.Sport = Chess) Interest

Result after performing Equi join:

Boys Interest
ID Name Percentage % ID Name Gender Sport Boys ⋈(... = ...) Interest
1 Rohan 56 3 Amit M Cricket
ID Name Percentage Gender Sport
2 Rohit 85 23 Aman M Chess
6 Tejan 84 M Chess
3 Amit 75 5 Saiz M Cricket
4 Ravi 79 10 Shreya F Badminton
5 Saiz 65 6 Tejan M Chess
6 Tejan 84 15 Sakshi F Chess
7 Rishabh 75 2 Rohit M Cricket

RELATIONAL ALGEBRA
Natural Join is also considered a type of inner join but it does not use any comparison operator for join
condition. It joins the table only when the two tables have at least one common attribute with same
name and domain.
In the result of the Natural Join the common attribute only appears once.
It will be more clear with help of an example :
What if we are told to find all the Students of class 12th and their sports interest we can apply Natural
Join as : Boys ⋈ Interest
So when we perform Natural Join on table Boys and table Interest they both have a common attribute ID
and have the same domain. So, the Result of Natural Join will be:
Boys Interest Boys ⋈ Interest
ID Name Percentage % ID Name Gender Sport
ID Name Percentage Gender Sport
1 Rohan 56 3 Amit M Cricket
2 Rohit 85 M Cricket
2 Rohit 85 23 Aman M Chess
3 Amit 75 M Chess
3 Amit 75 5 Saiz M Cricket
5 Saiz 65 M Cricket
4 Ravi 79 10 Shreya F Badminton
6 Tejan 84 M Chess
5 Saiz 65 6 Tejan M Chess
6 Tejan 84 15 Sakshi F Chess
7 Rishabh 75 2 Rohit M Cricket

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Module 2 Relational Algebra 25-08-2023

RELATIONAL ALGEBRA
Outer Join
Outer Join in Relational algebra returns all the attributes of both the table depending on the condition. If
some attribute value is not present for any one of the tables it returns NULL in the respective row of the
table attribute.
It is further classified as:
Left Outer Join
Right Outer Join
Full Outer Join
Let's see how these Joins are performed.

Left Outer Join

It returns all the rows of the left table even if there is no matching row for it in the right table performing
Left Outer Join.
A ⟕B
Let's perform Left Outer Join on table Boys and Interest and find out all the boys of class 12th and their
sports interest.

RELATIONAL ALGEBRA
If we perform Left Outer Join on table Boys and table Interest such that Boys.ID = Interest.ID . Then
Result of the Join will be:
ID Name Percentage % ID Name Gender Sport
1 Rohan 56 3 Amit M Cricket
2 Rohit 85 23 Aman M Chess
3 Amit 75 5 Saiz M Cricket
4 Ravi 79 10 Shreya F Badminton
5 Saiz 65 6 Tejan M Chess
6 Tejan 84 15 Sakshi F Chess

Boys ⟕ Interest 7 Rishabh 75 2 Rohit M Cricket

Boys.ID Boys.Name Boys.Percentage Interest.ID Interest.Name Interest.Gender Interest.Sport

1 Rohan 56 NULL NULL NULL NULL
2 Rohit 85 2 Rohit M Cricket
3 Amit 75 3 Amit M Cricket
4 Ravi 79 NULL NULL NULL NULL
5 Saiz 65 5 Saiz M Cricket
6 Tejan 84 6 Tejan M Chess
7 Rishabh 75 NULL NULL NULL NULL

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Module 2 Relational Algebra 25-08-2023

RELATIONAL ALGEBRA
Right Outer Join
It returns all the rows of the second table even if there is no matching row for it in the first table
performing Right Outer Join.

A ⟖B
Let's perform Right Outer Join on table Boys and Interest and find out all the boys of class 12th and their
sports interest. If we perform Right Outer Join on table Boys and table Interest such that Boys.ID =
Interest.ID . Then Result of the join will be:

RELATIONAL ALGEBRA
If we perform Right Outer Join on table Boys and table Interest such that Boys.ID = Interest.ID . Then
Result of the join will be:
ID Name Percentage % ID Name Gender Sport
1 Rohan 56 3 Amit M Cricket
2 Rohit 85 23 Aman M Chess
3 Amit 75 5 Saiz M Cricket
4 Ravi 79 10 Shreya F Badminton
5 Saiz 65 6 Tejan M Chess
6 Tejan 84 15 Sakshi F Chess

Boys ⟖ Interest 7 Rishabh 75 2 Rohit M Cricket

Boys.ID Boys.Name Boys.Percentage Interest.ID Interest.Name Interest.Gender Interest.Sport

3 Amit 75 3 Amit M Cricket
NULL NULL NULL 23 Aman M Chess
5 Saiz 65 5 Saiz M Cricket
NULL NULL NULL 10 Shreya F Badminton
6 Tejan 84 6 Tejan M Chess
NULL NULL NULL 15 Sakshi F Chess
2 Rohit 85 2 Rohit M Cricket

Clearly, we can observe that all the rows of the right table, i.e., table Interest is present in the result.

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Module 2 Relational Algebra 25-08-2023

RELATIONAL ALGEBRA ID Name Percentage % ID Name Gender Sport

1 Rohan 56 3 Amit M Cricket
Full Outer Join
2 Rohit 85 23 Aman M Chess
It returns all the rows of the first and second Table.
3 Amit 75 5 Saiz M Cricket
A⟗B
4 Ravi 79 10 Shreya F Badminton
5 Saiz 65 6 Tejan M Chess
6 Tejan 84 15 Sakshi F Chess
7 Rishabh 75 2 Rohit M Cricket
Boys ⟗ Interest
Boys.ID Boys.Name Boys.Percentage Interest.ID Interest.Name Interest.Gender Interest.Sport
1 Rohan 56 NULL NULL NULL NULL
2 Rohit 85 2 Rohit M Cricket
3 Amit 75 3 Amit M Cricket
4 Ravi 79 NULL NULL NULL NULL
5 Saiz 65 5 Saiz M Cricket
6 Tejan 84 6 Tejan M Chess
7 Rishabh 75 NULL NULL NULL NULL
NULL NULL NULL 23 Aman M Chess
NULL NULL NULL 10 Shreya F Badminton
NULL NULL NULL 15 Sakshi F Chess

Clearly, we can observe that all the rows of the right table and left Table, i.e., Table B and A are present
in the result.

Prepared by: Dr. Mukesh Bathre 13