8

Introduction to Database
CHAPTER
Management System

IntroductIon
Databases and database systems are essential parts of
our life. We have been interacting with databases since
a time. Recall the process of looking for a word in a
dictionary or finding the telephone number of a friend
from the telephone directory. With the advancement
in ever changing technology, computerized databases
are being used to store, manipulate, and manage the
database. Today, we use databases in almost all spheres
of life. When we go to book railway tickets, to search
for a book in a library, to get the salary details, to get
the balance amount after withdrawal of money from the
ATM and so on, this list can run into several pages. Data
being stored in databases can be of varied types like
text, images, audio and video. This data is then stored
and/or processed so as to get meaningful information.

Data and Information

The raw facts constitutes data. The facts may be related
to any person, place, activity or things. It may be stored
in the form of text, graphics, audio or video. This data
must be processed by any computing machine in a
proper way to generate the useful and meaningful
information. The examples of data are marks scored by
the students, weights, prices, costs, numbers of items
sold, employee names, product names, addresses, tax
codes, registration, marks etc.
Information is the processed or organized form of
data. If data is not correct or accurate, the information
obtained by processing such data may not be correct.
For example, marks obtained by students and their roll
numbers is the data, while the report card/sheet is the

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information. Other forms of information are pay-slips, notes
schedules, worksheet, bar charts, invoices, account
returns etc. Similarly the temperature recorded is data
which can be processed to find out the maximum or
minimum temperature of day and night. Also this data
is generally organised in tabular form as shown in the
Table 8.1.
Table 8.1: Data Stored in Tabular Form

Day Day Temperature Night Temperature

Sunday 35 15
Monday 37 17
Tuesday 36 16
Wednesday 34 15
Thursday 35 17
Friday 35 16
Saturday 33 14

Databases and DBMS

A database is a collection of logically related data items
stored in an organised manner. The information being
stored in a database can be added, modified, deleted
or displayed according to the requirements of the user.
The software that is used to create, update and retrieve
data is known as database management system
(DBMS). It facilitates planning and maintenance of the
database for the user. Some of the common examples
of DBMS are MS Access, Open Office or LibreOffice
Base, Oracle, Ingress, MySQL. In this book, we will use
LibreOffice Base version 6.4 to learn various aspects
of DBMS.
We all know that it is easy to remember names of our
friends, but it is difficult to retain their phone numbers
in our memory. If details like names and phone numbers
are stored in a diary or mobile phone in an orderly
manner, then it becomes easy to retrieve the phone
number of a required person. Thus, the phone book
can be considered a simple database and to manage
this database electronically, we will require a database
management system or a DBMS.

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 Let us discuss some of the advantages of DBMS:
• Organised Storage – The data in the database is
stored in an organised manner, so that retrieval
of the required data is fast and accurate.
• Data Analysis – A database helps in analysis of
data based on certain criteria. It is easy to find
out maximum or minimum value, average or
mean using a database.
• Data Sharing – If the same data set is required
for different applications then the database can
be shared with other applications. Hence using
a database means making once and using it
repeatedly for multiple applications.
• Minimal Data Redundancy – In the event of
requiring the same data field in several tables the
data field might get repeated in number of tables.
This is called as data redundancy. This can be
reduced by using DBMS tools.
• Data Consistency – By minimising data
redundancy, chances of inconsistent data being
stored is reduced. For example, it should not
happen that the name of the student is changed in
one table and not in another. Such inconsistency
is reduced by using a DBMS.
Let us consider a situation where, for example,
Murugan looks after the data management of ABC
School. There are two tables in his database– Admission
table and Library table. ‘Ram Lal Kumar’ wants to
change his name to ‘Ram Kumar’ has recently shifted
his house. So, he hands over the application for the
same to Murugan. In the absence of a DBMS, Murugan
has to change the name of the student separately in the
admission table and also in the library table. But as we
can set a relation between the two tables using a DBMS,
any change in one table is automatically reflected in
all the related tables. There is no need to add another
record with the changed name. The same record will
be updated. Hence, this reduces the chances of data
redundancy and inconsistency.
Admission Table
Roll Number Student Name Class Date of Birth Date of Admission
913 Dipak Kumar 10 06/04/2004 25/06/2018
914 Ram Lal Kumar 10 01/03/2004 24/06/2018

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 Library Table
Student Name Name of the Book Date of Borrow Date of Return
Dipak Kumar IT 10/12/2018 25/12/2018
Ram Lal Kumar Science 11/11/2018 24/11/2018
Sham Lal Mathematics 12/11/2018 30/12/2018

• Increases Efficiency – Since database tables are

properly organised, saving, reading and searching
data can be carried out efficiently.
• Increases Accuracy – Since data redundancy and
inconsistency can be minimised in a database,
the data is retrieved accurately from the database.
• Increases Validity – Properties of different data
fields can be assigned when a database is planned.
So whether or not valid data is being entered can
be checked at the data entry stage. This increases
the validity of the database. For instance, we may
set up a restriction while creating the table that
the amount of fees being entered should be more
than 1000.
• Security – Unauthorised access can be controlled
by assigning passwords to the users. The data
might be translated in such a manner that
unauthorised users are not able to read it. This
is known as encryption. Both these measures
increase the security of the database.

Data Models
A database can be designed in different ways depending
on the data being stored. This structure of database
is known as data model that describes the manner in
which data will be stored and retrieved.
A data model consists of components for describing
the data, relationships among them and the constraints
that hold data. There are different data models such
as hierarchical data model, network data model and
relational data model.

Hierarchical Data Model

In this model the data is organized into a tree like
structure. The data is stored in the form of records.
A record is a collection of fields and its data values.
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 notes All these records are linked to each other at various
levels, thereby forming a hierarchy. For example, in
Fig. 8.1 the data of a company is stored using a
hierarchical data model.
Likes Ltd.

Personal Information Project Information

Emp Name Project Number

Salary Project Deadline

Designation Employee Incharge

Fig. 8.1: Hierarchical Data Model

Network Data Model

In this model, multiple records are linked to same
master file. It is also considered as an inverted tree
where master is present in the bottom of the tree and
the branches contain information linked to the master.
In Fig. 8.2, the data of the company is represented using
the network data model.
Likes Ltd.

Personal Project
Information Information

Emp Project Project

Salary Designation
Name Number Deadline

Fig. 8.2: Network model

Relational Data Model

This data model is based on the principle of setting
relationships between two or more tables of the same
database. It is the most commonly used database model.
Let us study about this model in detail.

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Relational Database Model notes
The Relational Database Model was proposed in 1970
by E. F. Codd. Relational database model is the most
common type of database model. The data elements are
stored in different tables made up of rows and columns.
The data in different tables are related through the use
of common fields. So relations are set between tables
based on common fields. That is why this model is
termed as relational database model.

Relational Database Terminology

Let us get familiar with some of the common terms used
in RDBMS.
• Entity – It is a real world object about which
information is to be stored in a database. For
example, if we want to store information about an
entity Student in a school, then we need to have his
admission number, roll number, name, father’s
name, date of birth, etc. These details associated
with the entity are called attributes. Each entity
is a collection of these attributes associated with
it. So roll number, name, admission number,
etc., are attributes associated with the entity
student. These attributes are represented in the
form of columns.
• Table – A table is a collection of logically related
records. It is organised as a set of columns, and
can have any number of rows. For example, the
Employee table can have columns, namely name,
designation, department and have records or
rows having data of 100 employees.
• Field or Columns or attributes – A field is the
smallest entity in the database. A collection of
fields make a record, a collection of records make
a table and a collection of tables make a database.
Fields are individual record characteristics and
are presented as columns within a table. Data
values are stored in a database as fields. A field
holds the data values of one type of data for
several persons. For example, in the Employee
table the field “Emp Name” will hold the names of
employees of an organisation.
• Data Values – Data values are the raw
data represented in numeric, character or
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 alphanumeric form. Examples of data values are
‘Abhinav Bindra’, ‘26’ ‘shooting’, “Chandigarh”,
“10-12-2018”, etc.
• Record or Row – The data values for all the fields
related to a person or object is called a record. It is
presented as rows within a table. A record holds
the data values of all the fields for a single person
or object in a table. For example, in the Employee
table with the field names as Name, Designation,
Department, the data values of all the fields for an
employee may be (‘Abhinav’, ‘Manager’, ‘Finance’)
and this forms one record.
• Primary Key – A primary key or simply a key is
a field that uniquely identifies a row in a table.
The key identifier can be the value of a single
column or of multiple columns. The primary key
is a unique identifier for the table. The column or
combinations of columns that form the primary
key have unique values. At any time, no two rows
in the table can neither have same values for the
primary key nor can data value for such field be
left blank. For example, in a student table, each
student has a unique roll no., which forms the
primary key. If, in a table we use more than one
fields to identify a record, it is known as a composite
key. For example, we may form a composite key
consisting of fields roll no. and name.
• Relational Database – A relational database is
a collection of related tables. For example, in
Fig. 8.3, the database contains two related tables.
Relational Database
Fields

Roll Number Student Name Class Date of Birth Date of Admission

913 Dipak Kumar 10 06/04/2004 25/06/2018
914 Ram Lal Kumar 10 01/03/2004 24/06/2018

Roll Number Book Number Date of Barrow Date of Admission

913 555 10/12/2018 25/12/2018 Tables
914 333 11/11/2018 24/11/2018 Records
915 444 12/11/2018 30/12/2018

Fig. 8.3: Relational database

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 • Foreign Key – If a field or a combination of fields
of one table can be used to uniquely identify
records of another table, then that particular field
is known as the foreign key. This foreign key helps
to build a relation between two tables. Consider
the example given below.
Student Registration Table
Enrolment Number Student Name Class Date of Birth Date of Admission
XX1234567890 Dipak Kumar 10 06/04/2004 25/06/2018
XX1234567891 Ram Kumar 10 01/03/2004 24/06/2018
Primary key: Enrollment Number
Student Marks Table
Roll Number Maths Science Vocational Enrolment Number
44983 87 75 80 XX1234567890
44990 74 45 75 XX1234567891
Primary key – Roll Number, Foreign key – Enrollment Number

In Student Registration Table, ‘Enrolment_Number’

is the primary key and in the Student Marks Table,
‘Roll_Number’ is the primary key, whereas ‘Enrollment_
Number’ is the foreign key. This foreign key can be used
to set a relation between two tables.
• Candidate Key – All the field values that are
eligible to be the primary key are the candidate
keys for that table. Such fields can neither be left
blank nor can have duplicate values. So in the
table Student Marks, Enrollment Number and
Roll Number both are candidate keys.
• Alternate Key – Out of the candidate keys, one
or two are made as primary keys. The others are
the alternate keys. Hence, if Roll Number is made
as the primary key, Admission Number is the
Alternate key.

Objects of an RDBMS
An object in a database is a structure or a feature that
is used to store, represent or retrieve data. In fact a
database is a collection of these objects that work on
multiple sets of data related to each other. Various
objects in a database are as discussed below:
• Table – As mentioned before, a table is the basic
unit of any DBMS. The data is first stored in tables
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 notes in row and column format. A column represents
a field or an attribute while a row represents
a record.
• Forms – A form is a feature of a database using
which we can enter data in a table in an easy
and user friendly manner. A form consists of text
boxes, labels, radio buttons, list boxes, check
boxes etc. that give a user friendly interface for
entering data. The data entered through the forms
is stored in tables.
• Queries – A query is used to retrieve the desired
information from the database. In simple terms,
it is a question asked from the database. For
example, if we want to view the names of only
those students who have scored more than
50 marks, then we post a query. The data set
matching the given criterion is retrieved from the
table and displayed on the screen.
• Reports – The output of a query may be displayed
in the form of reports. The usual result of the
query is in the form of rows and columns. But
if we want the report to be formal and in proper
layout, then we can use the Reports feature
of RDBMS.
Let’s Practice
Consider the following table and answer the questions that
follow.
Item Discount
Name Price Quantity
No. (in%)
A001 Pen 20 12 0
A003 Pencil 15 5 1
A010 Notebook 50 25 5
From the above table, identify the primary key. Justify
your choice.
How many fields and how many records does the table have?

summary
• The raw facts constitutes data.
• Information is the processed or organised form
of data.
• A database is a collection of logically related data
items stored in an organised manner.
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 • The software that is used to create, update and notes
retrieve data is known as database management
system (DBMS).
• Some of the common examples of DBMS are MS
Access, Open Office or LibreOffice Base, Oracle,
Ingress, MySQL.
• Data Model is the structure of database and it
describes the manner in which data will be stored
and retrieved.
• There are different data models, such as
hierarchical data model, network data model and
relational data model.
• In Hierarchical Data Model, the data is organised
into a tree like structure. The data is stored in the
form of linked records.
• In Network Data model, multiple records are
linked to same master file.
• The Relational data model is based on the
principle of setting relationships between two or
more tables of the same database.
• Entity is a real world object about which
information is to be stored in a database.
• The details associated with the entity are called
attributes.
• A table is a collection of logically related records.
It is organised as a set of columns, and can have
any number of rows.
• A field is the smallest entity in the database.
These are individual record characteristics and
are presented as columns within a table.
• Data values are the raw data represented in
numeric, character or alphanumeric form.
• The data values for all the fields related to a
person or object is called a record. It is presented
as rows within a table.
• A primary key is a field that uniquely identifies a
row in a table.
• This foreign key helps to build a relation between
two or more tables in a database.
• All the field values that are eligible to be the
primary key are the candidate keys for that table.

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 notes • Out of the candidate keys, one or two are made as
primary keys. The others are the alternate keys.
• An object in a database is a structure or a feature
that is used to store, represent or retrieve data.
The various objects in a database are tables,
forms, reports and queries.
• A form is a feature of a database using which
we can enter data in a table in an easy and user
friendly manner.
• A query is used to retrieve the desired information
from the database.
• The output of a query may be displayed in the
form of reports.

Check Your Progress

A. Multiple choice questions

1. Which of the following can be considered as an example

of a database?
(a) Dictionary
(b) Telephone directory
(c) Marks Register
(d) Newspaper
2. Which of the following is NOT a DBMS?
(a) MS Access
(b) Open Office Base
(c) MS Excel
(d) MySQL
3. DBMS stands for ______________________.
(a) Data and Books Management System
(b) Database Management System
(c) Duplicate Books Management System
(d) Data Management Multi System
4. Which of the following data models sets a relation between
the two or more tables?
(a) Relational Data Model
(b) Network Data Model
(c) Hierarchical Data Model
(d) Connection Data Model
5. The details associated with an entity are called
____________.
(a) Table
(b) Attributes
(c) Records
(d) Primary key

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 6. A __________ is represented as rows in a table. notes
(a) field
(b) attribute
(c) record
(d) candidate key
7. In which of the following forms can a data value be
represented?
(a) Numeric
(b) Character
(c) Alphanumeric
(d) All of the above
8. Which of the following uniquely identifies a row in a table?
(a) Primary key
(b) Alternate key
(c) Foreign key
(d) Candidate key
9. A ___________is a feature of a database using which we can
enter data in a table in an easy and user friendly manner.
(a) query
(b) report
(c) form
(d) field
10. A _____________ is a question asked from a database.
(a) query
(b) report
(c) form
(d) field

B. State whether the following statements are True or False

1. A database cannot be organised.

2. Data is the collection of raw facts.
3. A table can be created without a primary key.
4. Two tables can be related in a network data model.
5. MS Access is an example of a database.

C. Fill in the blanks

1. The raw facts constitutes _____________.

2. An _____________ is a real world object about which
information is to be stored in a database
3. The output of a query may be displayed in the form of
________.
4. The data values for all the fields related to a person or
object is called a _________.
5. All the field values that are eligible to be the primary key
are the ___________ keys for that table

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 notes D. Answer the following questions

1. Define the terms

(a) Database
(b) Data redundancy
(c) Report
2. Give one point of difference between
(a) Data and Information,
(b) Form and Query,
(c) Network and hierarchical data model
3. Give any four advantages of a DBMS.
4. Consider the table given below and answer the questions
that follow
Table: Library
Book_Id Book Name Author Name Price Publisher
F001 Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen 550 ABC
S004 Amazing Astronomy E. Shane 1050 ABC
C005 IT and Mankind MHA Diwaan 2500 HYM
(a) Name the fields in the given table.
(b) Which field should be made the primary key?
(c) Is there any alternate key in the table?
(d) How is primary key different from foreign key? Explain
with example.

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 9
CHAPTER
Starting with LibreOffice Base

IntroductIon
In the previous chapter we have learned about
databases and database management system (DBMS).
LibreOffice Base is a free and open source DBMS. It can
be downloaded from www.libreoffice.org and is available
for both Linux and Windows operating systems. Data
has to be stored in an organised manner using a DBMS.
Also, the data being stored can be a text, number, date
or in any other form. So, we need to understand different
types of data that can be stored in a table. The data
types of the fields have to be specified while creating
tables in a database. Thereafter valid data is entered
and stored in a table.

Data Types
The nature of data to be entered for various fields are
of different types. For example, names are stored in the
form of text, age in numbers, fees in decimal numbers,
date of birth in date format and so on. A data type refers
to the type of data that will be stored in that particular
field. The memory size of a field varies according to its
data type.
Some commonly used data types are described below.
Text Data Type – The text data is a combination of
letters, numbers or special characters. No arithmetic
calculations can be performed on text data. Examples of
text data type is PAN Card Number, Name, Marks, etc.

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 The table below lists various data types that can store
textual data.
Table 9.1: Text Data Types
Name Data type Description
Stores up to the maximum length indicated by user. It is
used to store some descriptive data having more than 255
characters. Memo data type allows to store text data up to
Memo LONGVARCHAR 64,000 characters.
Stores exactly the length specified by user. Character data
type is used to enter fixed number of characters. It can be
used for license number, passport number as they have
Text (fix) CHAR fixed number of characters.
Stores upto the specified length. The number of bytes
allocated depends on the number of characters entered by
the user. For example, the address is defined as varchar (50),
and if the address entered by the user is of 20 characters
Text VARCHAR then only 20 bytes will be occupied in the database.

• Numeric Data Type – Numeric data types

consists of numbers. The numbers can be integer
or real numbers on which any type of arithmetic
calculations can be performed. For example, 10,
-34.8, 90.6789 , -86 are of numeric data type.
Table 9.2 lists different numeric data types along
with the number of bits/bytes it uses and its range.
Table 9.2: Numeric data types
Name Data type Signed Range
Tiny Integer TYNYINT No 0-255
Small Integer SMALLINT Yes -32768 to 32768
Integer INTEGER Yes -2.14×109 to 2.14×109
BigInt BIGINT Yes -2.3×1018 to 2.3×1018
Number NUMERIC Yes Unlimited
Decimal DECIMAL Yes Unlimited
Float FLOAT Yes
Real REAL Yes 5×10(-324) to 1.79×10(308)
Double DOUBLE Yes

• Currency Data Type – The currency data type

indicates the monetary values and can be stored
using currencies of various countries. For example
$100, £ 500 or Rs. 25.50.
• Date Data Type – This data type is used to indicate
dates and time. For example 12/25/2019, 08:45 AM.
The data and time can be stored in various formats.
Table 9.3 list various forms of date data type.
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 Table 9.3: Various forms of Date data type
Name Description
Date Stores the year, month and day as it is stored in the system.
Time Stores the time of the day as hour, minute and second.
Timestamp Stores date and time information at once.

• Boolean – In boolean data type there can be only

two values- True or False. This also can be given
in multiple formats like Yes/No, True/False,
On/Off.
• Binary – The Binary data type used to store
digitized images and sounds that comes as long
string of zeros and ones. It is possible to store
photos of the products or employees, or sound
snippets or voice messages in Base database.

Starting with LibreOffice Base

Annual Sports Day is being held in Ruhi’s school in
which various sports competitions will be conducted.
Ruhi has been asked to create a database consisting of
various sports activities and its players. She decides to
create a database named, ‘Sports Day’ consisting of a
table ‘Events’ that contains the following fields:
Event_Id - to store Event identification
no like E001, E002, etc.
Event Name - to store name of the event
Date - to store date on which the
event will be conducted
Winner 1 Name - name of the winner
Winner 1 Points - points earned y the winner
Let’s Practice
What should be the data type of the fields of the table Events
that has to be created by Ruhi?
Which field should be made the primary key?

Once the table with its fields has been decided, Ruhi
decides to start creating the database using LibreOffice
Base. Follow the following steps to create the database.
Step 1. Start the LibreOffice Base as per the standard
process of starting the application in Windows
or Linux. In Windows, click Start > LibreOffice
or double click on the LibreOffice icon on the
desktop or Select Base Database option from
the bottom left panel.

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 In Ubuntu Linux, click on the Base icon
located on the left panel as shown in Fig.
9.1(a) or click on the Show Applications as
shown in Fig. 9.1(b) to search for its icon. Type
Base in the search box. The LibreOffice Base
application icon will be displayed as shown in
Fig. 9.1(c). Click on the Base icon to open the
Base application.
Step 2. A Database Wizard opens as shown in Fig. 9.2.
It allows you to create a new database or open
an existing database.
Fig. 9.1(a): Clicking on
the Base icon on the left
panel to open Base

Fig. 9.1(b): Clicking on Show

Applications to search for Fig. 9.2: LibreOffice Database Wizard
installed packages
Tip: To open LibreOffice Base, you may search
the application Base on your computer and
click on the LibreOffice Base icon.
Step 3. Since we want to create a new database, so
click Create a new database radio button. If
any database that has already been created is
to be opened, then select Open an Existing
Fig. 9.1(c): Clicking on the
searched Base icon Database option to select the database to be
to open Base opened. Thereafter click Next button.
Step 4. The Next step gives the option to register our
database with LibreOffice.org. If we register the
database, then our database is made public
and hence can be accessed by other people.
As of now, we would not like to register, so we
click and select the radio button with option,
‘No, do not register the database’.

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 Fig. 9.3: Decide How to Proceed After Saving the Database

Step 5. This step also asks whether

you want to open the
database for editing or
want to create a table using
the wizard. The option Open
the database for editing is
already selected.
Step 6. Click Finish button to
complete the database
creation process. The Save
As dialog box appears. Fig. 9.4: Save As dialog box
Step 7. Browse for the drive and folder where you want
to store your database.
Step 8. Type the name (Sports Day) in the File name
text box.
Step 9. Click Save button. The database in Base is
saved with an extension .odb. Also note that
if no name is given to the database, then it is
saved with a default name as NewDatabse.odb.

User Interface of Libre

Office Base
Once a database is created,
the screen as shown in
Fig. 9.5 appears. This is the
User Interface of Open Office
Base.
The various components
of the Base User Interface are
discussed below: Fig. 9.5: User Interface of LibreOffice Base

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 • Title Bar – The title bar displays the name of a
database and an application in which it is made.
The windows buttons to maximize, minimize or
close the window are located on the right corner
of the title bar.
• Menu Bar – The menu bar appears below the
title bar. It consists of seven menu items – File,
Edit, View, Insert, Tools, Window and Help. All
these menu items contain commands that help to
perform various operations on the database.
• Standard Toolbar – It is located below the menu
bar. It is used to access frequently used tools.
• Status Bar – It is located at the bottom of the
interface window. It displays information about
the type of view of the object in the database.
Database Pane – The database pane is located on
the left side of the window. LibreOffice Base is the
collection of related data objects known as Tables,
Forms, Queries, Reports and application modules.
Depending on the object that is selected, the
respective Task Pane and Object Area displaying
the created object appears.
Opening a Database
To open an already created database, click
File > Open. The Open dialogue box appears
as shown in Fig. 9.6. Browse for the folder
where the database to be opened is stored.
Select the desired database and click on
Open button.
Tip: Use the keyboard shortcut key Ctrl+O
to open an already existing database.
Fig. 9.6: Opening database from menu option
Creating a Table
Once the database is created, we can start working
with objects of the database. First and foremost is the
creation of the table and then entering data in the table.
A table in LibreOffice Base can be created using a wizard
or using the Design view.

Creating a Table using a Wizard

A table can be created at the time of creating a
database or after creating database. To create a table

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at the time of creating a database in
database wizard, select the radio button
with option “Create tables using
the table wizard”, then click on the
Finish button.
Since our database is already open,
so we will select and click If the database
is opened we can select Use Wizard to
create a table option from the Tasks Pane.
The Table Wizard dialog box will open as Fig. 9.7: Table Wizard
shown in Fig. 9.7. Follow the instructions
in the wizard to create the table with
desired fields.
The Table Wizard of Base consists of
ready-made tables. Click the Sample
tables list box and select select any
one table, say Customer from the drop
down list.
After selecting the Customer table,
various fields appears under Available Fig. 9.8: Fields shifted from Available fields to
Selected fields
Fields. The required fields from Available
fields box can be shifted one by one to
Selected fields box using > button as
shown in Fig. 9.8. You can select all the
fields from Available fields to Selected
fields in one stroke by clicking on
>> button.
Click on Next button. It will move you
to step 2. Set types and formats as shown
in Fig. 9.9.
Fig. 9.9: Setting types and formats
Then click on Next button. It will move
you to step 3. Set primary key. Let us set
the CustomerID field to primary key as
shown in Fig. 9.10.
Click on Next button, that will take
you to the complete the process of
creating table using wizard and display
the screen as shown in Fig. 9.11. This
screen will give you three choices. By
default the “Insert data immediately”
option selected. Fig. 9.10: Setting primary key

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 Click on the Finish button to complete
the process of creating the table and
using wizard. The next screen will
allow to enter the data as per the
selected fields. The data sheet view
interface as as shown in Fig. 9.12 will
open that allow to enter the data in the
Customer table.

Creating Table in Design View

Creating the table using wizard
Fig. 9.11: Creating table using wizard restricts us to use the same fields in the
per-designed tables. It may not solve
the purpose in real scenario, as we
may require to create a table with the
different fields for our purpose. Creating
tables using Design View gives us more
flexibility to do our work.
To create table using Design View, in
Fig. 9.12: Datasheet view of Customer table
main Database window, click on the
option Create Table in Design View
in the Tasks Pane and Table Design
Window will be opened as shown in
Fig. 9.13.
The screen is broadly divided into
two sections or horizontal panes.
The upper half consists of a grid
structure with three columns Field
Name, Field Type and Description.
• Field Name – It is the name of the
Fig .9.13: Creating Table in Design view
field assigned at the time of creation of
table.
• Field Type – It allows to assign a data type to the
field.
• Description – It allows to describe the purpose
of the field. It is not the part of database table,
but it is meant for the user to understand the
purpose of the field. We may or may not enter
field description.
The Field Properties pane is located at the bottom half
of the window. It displays the field properties assigned
by the database designer. These properties can also be

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changed as per the requirement and are
used to control and validate the data that
is to be entered.
Let us help Ruhi to create a table
named Events using in the option Create
Table in Design view in the Sports Day
database. Follow the follow the following
steps to do so.
Step 1. Type the first field name (EventId)
in the Field Name column. Press
Tab key. The cursor moves to the
second column i.e. Field Type.
Step 2. The Field Type column contains
a list box. As you click on the
down arrow, it appears and we Fig. 9.14: Selecting data type for field
can select the desired data type
from the list box. Select the
datatype (Varchar).
Step 3. Observe that certain properties
appear in the Field Properties
Pane as the data type is selected.
Some of the properties are Entry
required, Length, Default value,
Format example. Set the desired
properties for the entered field.
Step 4. Press Tab key to move to the next
column. Add any description if
you want in the third column.
Step 5. Once the properties for the field
are set, press Tab key to move to Fig. 9.15: Fields entered using Creating Table
next row. in Design View
Step 6. Enter the next field by repeating steps 1,2 and
3. Repeat the process for adding all fields in the
table. Fig. 9.15 shows the Design View with all
the fields.

Setting the Primary Key

As you have learned that every table must have a primary
key that uniquely identifies a record in the table. To
make a particular field as the primary key, place the
mouse pointer before the field name, say Event Id in our
above example and right click. A pop up menu appears.

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 Select the Primary Key option from pop
up menu as shown in Fig. 9.16. A key icon
appears before the field name indicating
that it is a primary key.

Saving a Table
After creating the table you need to save it
on the disk. To save the table click on the
save button or follow menu option File >
Save As. A Save As dialog box is displayed
as shown in Fig. 9.17. Enter the name of
table and click on OK button.

Fig. 9.16: Assigning primary key

More to know
To set a composite Fig. 9.17: Saving a table
key, i.e. a primary
key consisting of two Tip: Press Ctrl + S to save the table or click Save icon
fields, keep the Ctrl from the toolbar. If the table is being saved after making
key pressed and then some changes, simply select File-> Save option.
click on multiple
Once the table design is complete, click on Close
fields to select them.
Thereafter right click button on the toolbar to return to the Database screen.
on selected fields and The name of the table will appear in the Tables Object
choose Primary Key Area as shown in the Fig. 9.18.
option from the pop
up menu.

Fig. 9.18: Event table added to the database

Entering Data in a Table

To enter data in the table, double click on the created
table Events icon in the Tables Object Area on the
database screen. Alternatively, we can open the table
by right clicking on the desired table and then selecting
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the Open option from the drop
down menu. The datasheet view
of the table will appear as shown
in Fig. 9.19. It displays the field
names in the top row. These fields
are displayed in the same order
as they were added while creating
the table. Fig. 9.19: Datasheet view of Events table
If the number of fields are more
and cannot fit in the single row, you
can use the horizontal scroll bar to
view all the fields. The cursor will
be blinking in the second row. Start
typing the data value for each field.
Use Tab to move to next field. Once
all the data values are entered for
a single record, the cursor moves
to the next record. This process is Fig. 9.20: Data entry in Event table

called as data entry. Enter 4-5 records in the Events

table as shown in Fig. 9.20.

Navigating through the Table

The black pointing arrow ( )just before the field name
is the record pointer. To navigate through various
records of the table, we use the navigation box present
at the bottom of the datasheet window as shown in
Fig. 9.21. It indicates a current record of the table at
any given time.

Fig. 9.21: Navigation box

The various components of Navigation Box are
as follows:
• Record Selector Box – T his is the text box where
the currently active record number is displayed.
We may enter the record number that we want to
see in this text box.
• Navigation Buttons – These are used to scroll
vertically in the table.
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 Press to move to the first record
Press ► and ◄ to move to the next and previous records
respectively.
Press to move to the last record
Fig. 9.20 shows the datasheet view after entering
four records in the table. Note that the record pointer is
on fourth record, the Navigation Bar shows the “Record
4 of 4”.

Editing Data
To edit or modify the previously entered data simply
place the cursor on the field value that has to be edited
to edit and enter the new value.
The Edit icon ( ) appears before the record that is
being edited. This icon is displayed till the table is saved
after making the required changes. Press Esc key to
cancel the corrections made and restore the original
contents.

Deleting Records from Table

To delete any record from the table, open the table
and select the record to be deleted. The record can
be deleted by pressing the Del key from the keyboard
or selecting the Delete Record option from the Edit
menu. Alternatively a record can also be deleted by right
clicking on the record and clicking on the Delete Rows
option from the pop up menu.
Attempting to delete the record will display the
Confirmation box as shown in Fig. 9.22. Clicking on
Yes button will finally delete the record, while clicking
Fig. 9.22: Delete record alert
on the No button will not delete the record.

Sorting Data in the Table

Data in a table can be arranged in ascending or
descending order. This process of arranging the records
in particular order on any filed is called as sorting.
Follow the following steps to sort the table.
Step 1. Open the Event table in datasheet view and
select the field on which you want to sort.
Fig. 9.23: Sorting the Event table Fig. 9.23 shows that the field “Points” is selected
on Points field to sort the records in ascending order.
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Step 2. From the tool bar click Sort Ascending
icon if the table has to be sorted in ascending
order of selected field. Alternatively select Sort
Descending icon if the table has to be sorted
in descending order of selected field. Fig. 9.24: Event table after
Step 3. The table will be sorted in the ascending order sorting on Points field
of points as shown in Fig. 9.24.
Sometimes we may need to sort the table based on
more than one fields. In such case, click Sort icon
on the toolbar. The Sort Order dialog will be displayed
as shown in the Fig. 9.25.
Select the appropriate field name and field value
according to which the records are to be sorted. Choose
the order of sorting ascending or descending as required
from the Order drop down box. Multiple fields may be Fig. 9.25: Sort Order dialog box

selected in this dialog box. Click OK button once done.

Closing LibreOffice Base

To close the application window of LibreOffice Base,
click on the File > Close or click on the cross (x) button
of the LibreOffice Base window.

Let’s Practice
There are 5 houses in Ruhi’s school – Ganga, Yamuna, Satluj,
Beas and Narmada. Once student can participate from each
house in a particular event. Create a table Participants with
following fields.
1. Event_Id
2. Event Name
3. Ganga
4. Yamuna
5. Satluj
6. Beas
7. Narmada
Also add minimum five records in the table.

summary
• Base is a free and open source database component
of LibreOffice suit.
• It can be downloaded from www.libreoffice.org
• A data type refers to the type of data that will be
stored in that particular field.

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 notes • Various in Base can be categorized into Text ,
Numeric, Currency and Date.
• LibreOffice Base is the collection of related data
objects known as Tables, Forms, Queries, Reports
and application modules.
• Depending on the object that is selected, the
respective Task Pane and Object Area displaying
the created object appears on the User Interface
Window.
• A table in LibreOffice Base can be created using a
wizard or using the Design view.

Practical Exercise
Ananthu wants to create a directory containing data – Serial
No, Name, Mobile Number, Email id, Date of birth of his friends.
Create a table using LibreOffice Base. Make Serial No as primary
key. Enter minimum 5 records in the table. Sort the table in
alphabetical order of name.

Check Your Progress

A. Multiple choice questions

1. Which of the following is NOT a type of text data type?

(a) Memo
(b) Varchar
(c) Float
(d) Char
2. A currency data type can only store monetary data that is
in dollars.
(a) True
(b) False
(c) Neither a nor b
(d) Both a and b
3. Which of the following data can a date data type store?
(a) Date
(b) Time
(c) Both date and time
(d) Neither date nor time
4. Which of the following is true about LibreOffice Base?
(a) It is a spreadsheet software
(b) It is free and open source software
(c) It can store only character data
(d) It is a licensed software.

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 5. Which of the following methods can be used to create a notes
table in Base?
(a) Using a table wizard
(b) Design View
(c) Both a and b
(d) Neither a nor b
6. The related objects of a database can be seen in ____________
pane of the Base Database window.
(a) Database
(b) Task
(c) Title Bar
(d) Menu Bar
7. Which is the shortcut key to open an existing database?
(a) Ctrl+ D
(b) Ctrl+O
(c) Ctrl+E
(d) Ctrl+F
8. The Design view of Table Creation window in LibreOffice
Base is divided into ______ sections or panes.
(a) 2
(b) 3
(c) 4
(d) 5
9. While entering records in a table, we can move to the next
field by pressing the _________ key.
(a) Tab
(b) Ctrl
(c) Enter
(d) Shift
10. Which of the following is true about primary key of a table?
(a) Every table must have a primary key
(b) The data values in primary key field cannot be
duplicated.
(c) A primary key field cannot be left blank
(d) All of the above

B. State whether the following statements are True or False

1. The text data can contain special characters.

2. Memo data type can be used to store descriptive data.
3. A Boolean data type can have two or more than two values.
4. We cannot store audio data in LibreOffice Base.
5. The properties of a field change according to the data
type selected.
6. Field description may or may not be entered while
designing a table.
7. is pressed to move to the last record.
8. appears when the record is being edited.

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 notes 9. A table once created in a database cannot be edited.
10. Sort dialog box can only help to sort data in
ascending order.

C. Fill in the blanks

1. A data type refers to the type of data that will be stored in

that particular field.
2. The _____________ data is a combination of letters, numbers
or special characters.
3. ________ data type can be used to store Aadhar number.
4. The __________ data type used to store digitized images.
5. The shortcut key to save a table is _______________.
6. ______________ on the Base Interface Window displays
information about the type of view of the object in the
database.
7. A __________ icon appears before the field name indicating
that it is a primary key.
8. The data can be entered in a table only in __________ view.
9. The black pointing arrow just before the field name in a
table is called ____________.
10. The process of arranging the records in particular order
on any filed is called _______________.

D. Answer the given questions

1. Differentiate between:
(a) Memo and Varchar data type
(b) Number and Decimal data type
(c) Design View and Datasheet view of a table
2. Name the menu items present on the Base User Interface,
3. Label the components – Title Bar, Database Pane, Tasks
Pane, Status Bar of the LibreOffice Base User Interface.
4. How can we define a primary key in a table?
5. Write steps to sort the table in descending order of
primary key.
6. What is the use of navigation box with respect to tables in
a database?

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 10
CHAPTER
Working with Multiple Tables

IntroductIon
We have learned to create tables in a database. Once the
tables are added in a database, you may require to edit
or delete the table. Also relations are set up between the
tables to control data redundancy and inconsistency.
This helps in proper maintenance of a database by
checking that neither the records are duplicated nor
there is variable data value for a particular field in two
or more tables. If you set up relations between tables,
then adding or updating a record in one table reflect the
changes in all the related tables.

Editing and Deleting Tables

In the previous chapter, we have created a Customer table
using a wizard in Sports Day database. It is possible to
copy, rename, edit and delete the table
of database by right clicking on the table
name and using the appropriate option
from the pop up menu.
Editing a table involves the task
such as adding a new field or removing
any field in a table or to alter any of the
field properties. To edit a table, open
the Database User Interface window.
Selecting the Table object in Database
Pane, the list of tables will be displayed
in the Table Area. Right click on the
table name and select Edit option from
Fig. 10.1: Selecting Edit option from pop up menu
the pop menu. In our example we have
selected the Customer table as shown in Fig. 10.1.
The design view window of the table will be displayed
as shown in Fig. 10.2. Do the required modifications

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 and save the table. Also note that the changes so
made will not affect the previous records entered in
the table.
Similarly to delete a table, right click on the table
to be deleted, say Customer table and select the
Delete option from the pop up menu as shown in
Fig. 10.3.
A confirmation box to confirm for deletion of the
table will be displayed as shown in Fig. 10.4. Click
on Yes button to finally delete the table.
Fig. 10.2: Table in design To rename a table, right click on the table name
view window in the Table Area and select Rename.. option from
the pop up menu. A cursor will appear. Type the
new name and press the Enter key.

Relationships between Tables

While working with multiple tables, you need to
check the redundancy and inconsistency of data.
The record for a particular entity should neither be
Fig. 10.3: Selecting Delete option repeated nor different data values should appear for
from pop up menu a single entity in the database.
This is done by setting relationship between the
tables of a database. The most important prerequisite
for setting a relationship is that there must be a
common field(s) between the two tables to create
Fig. 10.4: Confirm Deletion Alert a relationship.
Let us consider an example of a database containing
following two tables–Student_Details and Student_Result
Table 10.1: Student_Details
Admission No Name Father’s Name Class DOB
1001 Mampi D K Bose 10 12/3/2004
1005 Harnoor Tej Singh 9 2/5/2005
1110 Sanjeeva B Reddy 10 13/11/2004
1002 Neeru Rajesh Jain 7 14/11/2006
1134 Urjit Mahesh Patel 10 7/7/2003

Table 10.2: Student_Result

Roll No Admission No Class Aggregate_Marks
1 1001 10 78
2 1110 10 93
3 1134 10 46

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 In Table 10.1 (Student_Details), Admission No is the notes
primary key. In table 2 (Student_ Result), Roll No is the
primary key and Admission No is the foreign key. So
each record in Table 10.2 has a value of Admission No
that corresponds to a record in Table 10.1 with same
value of Admission No. It is important to note that the
data types of the common field in both the tables must
be same. If they are not same then LibreOffice Base will
display an error message and will not allow to set the
relationship between the two tables.
Once the relationship between the two tables has
been set, the integrity of data will be managed by the
DBMS. That means once a student’s record has been
entered in the Student_Details table, only then that
particular Admission No can be entered in the Student_
Result table. The record pertaining to Admission No in
Student_Details table is considered as the master record
while the corresponding record in the related table
(Student_Result) is the transaction record. Therefore
Student_Details is called the master table and Student_
Result is called the transaction table.

Types of Relationships
The type of relationship between any two tables in a
database is based on the number of records that are
present in the transaction table corresponding to the
master table. Primarily three types of relationships can
be set up between two tables in a relational database
These are:
(i) One-to-One
(ii) One-to-many
(iii) Many-to-Many

One-to-One relationship
In this type of relationship, one specific record of a
master table has one and only one corresponding
record in the transaction table. For example, the record
for Admission_No in the master table (Student_Detail)
will have only one corresponding record of same value
of Admission No in the transaction table of Student_
Result. This is because no two students will be given
same admission number. Similarly one person can have

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 notes only one ticket to get entry into a stadium to view the
match. So relationship between Student and Admission
number and a person and his ticket number will be
one-to-one relationship (Fig. 10.5).

Fig. 10.5: One–to-one relationship

One-to-Many relationship
This is one of the most common types of relationship
between the tables in a database. As the name says, in
this type of relationship, one specific record of the master
table has more than one corresponding records in the
related transaction table. For example, one teacher can
teach multiple students or multiple classes, or one person
can sell multiple products. So we can say that there is a
one to may relationship between a teacher and class or
teacher and student or seller and products (Fig. 10.6).

Fig 10.6: One–to–Many relationship

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Many-to-Many relationship notes
In this type of relationship, there will be multiple
records in the master table that correspond to multiple
records in the transaction table as well. Generally this
type of relationship is set when certain records have
to be saved more than once in both the related tables.
For example, a teacher in a school may hold multiple
responsibilities such as class teacher, an activity in-
charge or examination in-charge. For each responsibility
the teacher might be attached with multiple students.
So this type of relationship will be many to many
relationship. Similarly a shopkeeper may sell multiple
products to multiple customers. So many-to-many
relationship exists between a product and a customer.
Fig. 10.8 shows the corresponding records in master
table and transaction table are in same color.
Table: Department_Incharges
Department Teacher_Id
Examination T002
Discipline T765
Co-Curricular T056
Time Table T002
Website Update T765
Table: Activity_Duty
Activity Department Teacher_Id
UT1 Examination T002
Term1 Examination T002
HomeWork Upload Website Update T765
Timetable Upload Website Update T765
Inter-house Dance Co-Curricular T056
Inter-class Debate Co-Curricular T056
Discipline duties Discipline T765

Fig. 10.8: Many–to-many relationship

Advantages of Relating Tables in a Database

There are various advantages of relating tables in a
database. Few of them are as given below.
• A relationship can help prevent data redundancy.
• It helps prevent missing data by keeping
deleted data from getting out of synch. This is

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 called referential integrity. We will study in detail
about referential integrity later in the chapter.
• Creating relationships between tables restricts
the user from entering invalid data in the
referenced fields.
• Any updation in the master table is automatically
reflected in the transaction tables.

Let’s Practice
Name the type of relationship for the following:
• Citizen and his Driving License
• Customer and Product
• Student and Course
• Team and Match
• Player and Country
• Employee and Project

Creating Relationships
between Tables
Let us get back to Sports Day database
created in the previous chapter. Let us
add another field, CategoryID to the table
Events using Edit option as shown in
Fig. 10.9.
Enter 10 records in the Events table of
various categories as shown in Fig. 10.10.
Create another table with the name
EventCategory with the fields – CategoryID,
CategoryName, TeacherIncharge and
enter the records as shown in Fig. 10.11.
Fig. 10.9: Adding field CategoryID in Event table
Hence, there are two tables in the
database – Events and EventCategory
with a common field as CategoryID.

Fig. 10.10: Records entered in Event table with

added field CategoryID Fig. 10.11: Records entered in EventCategory table

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 In Event table, EventID is the primary
key and CategoryID is the foreign key.
In EventCategory table, CategoryID is
the primary key. To set up relationship
between these tables follow the
following steps.
Step 1. From main menu of LibreOffice
Base, click on Tools >
Relationships…
Step 2. The Relationship Design screen
will appear as shown in Fig.
10.12. In the middle of the screen
there is Add Tables dialog box.
Both the tables are listed in the
Fig. 10.12: Add Tables dialog box in Relationship
dialog box. Design Screen
Step 3. In the Add Tables dialog box,
click Events table and then
click Add button. Similarly
add EventCategory table to the
Relationship Area.
Step 4. Click Close button to close the Add
Tables dialog box. Observe that the
tables Events and EventCategory
table added to the Relationship
Area along with all its field list as
shown in Fig. 10.13.
Step 5. As discussed before, CategoryID
is the common field in the two
tables. Hence it will be used to
Fig. 10.13: Events and EventCategory Tables
set a relationship between the added in Relationship Design window
two tables. To create a relation
between the two tables, we just have
to drag the common field CategoryID
from the Events table and drop it in
EventCategory table. A line connecting
both the tables with the common field
(CategoryID) appears on the screen as
shown in Fig. 10.14.
The line is labeled as ‘l’ on the primary key
side and as ‘n’ on the foreign key side. Hence
the CatgeoryID from EventCategory table as
primary key will have unique values and is
called referenced field. On the other hand, Fig. 10.14: Relationship between two tables

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 in the Events table, the values of CategoryID
might be repeated. Here it is known as referencing
field. Fig. 10.15 shows that the CategoryID of the
Events table is referenced field and CategoryID of
the EventCategory table is referencing field. This
type of relationship where one value of a table is
associated with multiple values in another table
is a One-to-many relationship.
In this relationship EventsCategory is the
master table. So the master record with a particular
CategoryID has to be added in EventsCategory
Fig 10.15: CategoryID of Events table table first. Only then the corresponding record
is referenced field and CategoryID of
EventCategory table is referencing field can be added in the Events table. Also, only one
record with a specific CategoryID will exist in the
master table but multiple values of CategoryID might
exist in the transaction table, thereby forming a one-to-
many relationship.

Referential Integrity
According to the principle of referential integrity, no
unmatched foreign key values should exist in the
database. That means if a record, say Admission No
as 1001 is not present or deleted in the master table
(Student_Details) of Student database, then there
should be no record with Admission no as 1001 in the
transaction table (Student_Result) as well. Similarly,
in Ruhi’s Sports Day database, if a particular category
of sports, say C003 is deleted from the master table
EventCategory, then there should be no record with
Category as C003 in the transaction table. Likewise, if
any student leaves the school and his record is deleted
from Student_Details table, then there is no question
of his appearing for exams and having a result.
Hence corresponding record in the transaction table
(Student_Result) should either have NULL value or
should be deleted.
In Ruhi’s Sports Day database as well, the CategoryID
that exists in EventCategory table can only be entered in
Events table. As mentioned before, once the relationship
between the two tables has been set, the integrity of
data will be managed by the DBMS. LibreOffice Base

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will allow only that corresponding record to be entered
in the transaction table which already exists in the
master table.
LibreOffice Base gives us following four options
to choose from to maintain referential integrity in
such cases.
• No action – This is the default option. This option
states that a user should not be allowed to update
or delete any record in the master table if any
related record exists in the transaction table.
• Update cascade – This option allows the user to
delete or update the referenced field but along with
it all the related records in any of the transaction
tables will also be deleted or updated.
• Set NULL – This option assigns NULL value to all
the related fields if the master record is deleted or
updated.
• Set default – This option assigns any fixed default
value to all the related fields if the
master record is deleted or updated.
To set the relationship properties
double click on the relation line joining the
two tables, Events and EventCategory. A
Relations dialog box will open as shown in
Fig. 10.16.
By default the radio button with No
action option will be selected. Choose any
of the desired option and click OK to set the
referential integrity between the two tables.
Fig. 10.16: Relations dialog box

Let’s Practice
Form a table in Sports Day database in which one-to-one
relationship can be established. Write steps to create such a
relation in LibreOffice Base.

summary
• Relations are set up between the tables to control
data redundancy and inconsistency.
• The most important prerequisite for setting a
relationship between the two tables is that there
must be a common field(s) between the two tables.
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 notes • Three types of relationships can be set up between
two tables in a relational database. These are
One-to-One, One-to-Many and Many-to-Many.
• In One-to-One type of relationship, one specific
record of a master table has one and only one
corresponding record in the transaction table.
• In One-to-Many type of relationship, one
specific record of the master table has more
than one corresponding records in the related
transaction table.
• In Many-to-Many type of relationship, there
are multiple records in the master table
that correspond to multiple records in the
transaction table.
• According to the principle of referential integrity,
no unmatched foreign key values should exist in
the database.

Practical Exercises
Prakasan lives in Happy Home Society. He wants to create a
database so as to store and manage the maintenance dues
received from flat owners of the society. Create the following
tables for his database.
Table: Residents Details Table: Maintenance Dues

Flat no Receipt_Id
Owner Name Flat No
Contact No Date
Flat Category Amount
Relate the two tables and thereafter enter minimum five records
in both the tables. Which type of relationship did you create? In
which table did you enter the data first?
Uzair manages a boys hostel in an engineering college. He
wants to manage the records of the people staying in his hostel
by creating a database with the following tables and also set a
relationship between the tables.
Table: Student_Details
Student_Id
Name
DOB
Course
Father’s Name
Contact No_student

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 Contact No_ guardian notes
Room No
Table: Room Details
Room No
Floor (data value can be first, second or third)
Category (data value can be AC / Non- AC)
Student Id
DOO (Date of occupancy)
Monthly Rent

Check Your Progress

A. Multiple choice questions

1. Which of the following actions can be performed once the

tables are created in a database?
(a) Add a field in a table
(b) Rename a table
(c) Delete a table
(d) All of the above
2. Which of the following is checked by a DBMS?
(a) Redundancy
(b) Inconsistency
(c) Both (a) and (b)
(d) Neither (a) nor (b)
3. Which of the following is required to set a relationship
between the two tables?
(a) Both the tables must be in different databases
(b) Both the tables must have a common field
(c) Both the tables must have the same name
(d) Both tables must be stored in documents folder only.
4. If a record is added in a master table, which of the following
is NOT true for transaction table
(a) The record in the master table is called the master
record
(b) The corresponding record in transaction table can only
be entered once.
(c) The record in the transaction table is called the
transaction record.
(d) It is possible to add a record in the master table
5. Which type of relationship exists between a student and
the subjects studied by him/her?
(a) One-to-one
(b) One-to-many
(c) Many-to-many
(d) All of the above

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 notes 6. Consider the following tables. Which type of relationship
can be established between the two tables?
(a) One-to-one
(b) One-to-many
(c) Many-to-many
(d) None of the above
Table 1: Item Table 2: Item_Category
Item_Code Category_Code
Item_Name Cat_Name
Price Item_Code
Qty Cat_Disc
Category_Code

7. Which of the following menus contains the Relationship

option?
(a) Edit
(b) File
(c) Tools
(d) View
8. The list of tables to be added is displayed in the __________
dialog box in the Relationship Screen.
(a) Add Tables
(b) Add Databases
(c) Both (a) and (b)
(a) Neither (a) nor (b)
9. In the relationship design screen, the relationship between
the two tables is done using __________ operation.
(a) Click
(b) Double Click
(c) Drag and Drop
(d) Right click
10. Which of the following is NOT an option that can be used
to maintain referential integrity in a database?
(a) No Action
(b) Set NULL
(c) Set Default
(d) Set Value

B. State whether the following statements are True or False

1. Redundancy is preferred in a database.
2. In a table, a record for a particular entity should not
be repeated.
3. A single field should always have only one data value.
4. If a table is edited, the records already entered in it
are deleted.
5. The record in master table should be entered before the
corresponding record is entered in the transaction table.

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 notes
6. In one-to-many relationship, one specific record of the
master table has more than one corresponding records in
the related transaction table.
7. The Relationship option is present in the Widows menu.
8. In a database, the referential integrity is maintained by
the user.
9. A relationship is always set between the tables based on a
common field.
10. If the master record is deleted, the transaction records will
always be deleted.

C. Fill in the blanks

1. A table to be edited is displayed in ___________ view.

2. The most important prerequisite for setting a relationship
between the two tables is that there must be a
________________between them.
3. In ________________relationship, one specific record of a
master table has one and only one corresponding record
in the transaction table.
4. ___________________is one of the most common types of
relationship between the tables in a database.
5. A record being entered in a _________ table must always
exist in a ________ table.
6. The principle of _______________helps prevent missing data
by keeping deleted data from getting out of synch.
7. Creating ____________ between tables restricts the user
from entering invalid data in the referenced fields.
8. Data integrity is maintained by ______________.
9. A relationship between customers and products is an
example of __________________ relationship.
10. The __________________ window is used to set relationships
between the tables.

D. Answer the following questions

1. Give any two advantages of relating a table in a database.

2. How is redundancy or inconsistency controlled in a
database? Explain with an example.
3. Define referential integrity. Who maintains referential
integrity in a database?
4. Differentiate between one to one relationship and one to
many relationship. Give suitable examples to explain your
answer.
5. Explain many to many relationship with an example.

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 11
CHAPTER
Queries in Base

IntroductIon
A database is used to store data in an organized manner
so as to retrieve it easily and accurately from database.
To search for the desired record and to retrieve the
desired data, we have to give its specifications to DBMS.
Such specifications are given to the database in the
form of queries. For example, we may have to specify
the fields that we want to display or any particular data
value based on which the records are to be filtered from
the table(s). Therefore, we can say that a query is a sort
of question asked from a database. Depending upon
specifications given in the query, the specific records
are searched from the table(s) in the database and then
displayed in the desired manner. Such information
may be difficult to find by just looking at a single table
or multiple tables. In fact as the number of records
increase, finding the desired information becomes
more and more difficult. By using queries, we are able
to retrieve data without going individually through
each record in the table(s) and also display them in
desired format.

QuerIes
A query is one of the most important feature of any
DBMS. Using a query, we can retrieve and display data
from one or more tables in a database. This is done by
giving specific search criteria to the DBMS so that we
are able to view the exact information that we want.
LibreOffice Base allows us to create a query and
even save it as an object in a database. This helps us
to run the query multiple times as and when required.

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Using a query, we can specify the fields that we want
to display and also the criterion based on which the
records to be filtered. The information may be retrieved
from a single table or from multiple tables. Also the
result of the query is displayed in tabular form with
field names in columns and the records in rows.
For example, in a Student database, if we want
to display the names and marks of the students in a
particular class from the Result table, who have scored
less than 320 aggregate marks, then we need to give the
following information to the database:
Name of the table – Result
Fields to be specified – Name, Marks
Criterion – Aggregate marks should be less than 320
In this chapter you will learn to create a query, save
it and then run it as and when required.

Creating a Query
A query can be created in three ways. In this
chapter you will learn the first two methods to
create a query.
(i) Using a Wizard
(ii) In Design View
(iii) In SQL view
Creating a Query Using a Wizard Fig. 11.1: Records in Events table

Let us recall the Sports Day database created in

the previous chapters with two tables – Events
and EventCategory.
Let us create a query that will display the
Event Name and Winner for each event with
CategoryID as C001. The desired data has to Fig. 11.2: Records in Event Category table
be retrieved from the Events table. To create a
query using a wizard, follow the following steps.
Step 1. Open the Sports Day database. In
the Database Design window, click
on Queries button present in the
Database Pane on the left as shown in
Fig. 11.3.
Step 2. In the Tasks Area, click on Use Wizard
to Create Query… option. The Query Fig. 11.3: Queries icon in Database Pane

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 Wizard will start as shown in Fig. 11.4.
It contains the Steps Pane on the
left and the Query Details Area on
the right.
Step 3. The first step of the wizard is to select
fields from the respective tables. For
our query, to display Event Name and
Winner and the criterion to filter the
records based on CategoryID. All these
Fig. 11.4: First step of Query wizard fields are present in Events table.
Therefore select Events table from the
Tables list box. The corresponding
fields are displayed in the Available
Fields list box as shown in
Fig. 11.5.
Step 4. Select Event Name field from the
list box and click the right arrow (>)
button. The field name will appear
in the Fields in the Query list
Fig. 11.5: Fields of selected Events table
box. Repeat the process for Winner
displayed in the Available Fields list box and CategoryID fields as shown in
Fig. 11.5. Observe that these three
fields are moved to Fields in the Query
list box.
Note that once the fields are added
they can be moved up and down in
order by clicking ∧ and ∨ buttons
present on the extreme right of the
wizard. Clicking on » button moves all
fields to Fields in the Query area and
« button moves all the fields back to
Fig. 11.6: Fields moved from Available fields Available fields area.
to Fields in the Query list box
Step 5. Clicking on the Next button will
display the screen to select the sorting
order as shown in Fig. 11.7. It will set
the sorting order. The result of the
query can be displayed in ascending
or descending order of any particular
field of the table. Since we do not want
to set in a particular order, so we click
on Next button.
Step 6. The next step is to set the search
Fig. 11.7: Select sorting order conditions or the criteria on the basis

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 of which records will be filtered from the table.
This is the step where actually the query is set
up or the criterion is given to the database. As
per our query, the criterion is to display the
records of events with CategoryID as C001. By
default, the radio button with option Match all
of the following is selected.
Step 7. Select Events.CategoryID field from
Fields drop down list, is equal to
from Condition drop down list and
type the value as C001 as shown
in Fig. 11.8, and click on Click
Next button.
Three search conditions can be given
at the most in the wizard. Click and
select the radio button with option
‘Match any of the following’ if any
Fig. 11.8: Selecting the Search condition and
one of the given condition are to be specifying value
matched for filtering the records.
Step 8. Steps 4, 5 and 6 given in the Steps Pane deal
with tasks like summarizing and performing
numerical calculations. Such steps are not
required if there is no numeric field involved
in the query. So you can skip these steps and
move directly to “Step 7. Aliases” of
the wizard.
Step 9. The next step to give alias name i.e. the
column header name will be displayed
when we run the query. By default
the field names will be displayed as
column headers. Many times field
names are not user friendly, so an
alias name which is more readable, is
chosen to be displayed in the query
Fig. 11.9: Assigning Alias Names
output. For example, the name of the
field in the Events table is Winner.
To display the name of winner as the
column header, type ‘Winner Name’
and click on Next button as shown in
Fig. 11.9.
Step 10. The last step of the Query wizard
displays the entire overview of the
query as shown in Fig. 11.10. All the
steps performed till now are shown in
a summarised manner. Fig. 11.10: Overview of Query

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 It includes the following:
• Name of the Query – By default, the name of the
query is Query_Events by default. If desired, type
the new name in the text box.
• The action to be performed after the wizard
finishes – By default Display Query option will
be selected. Click and select the Modify Query
radio button if the query has to be edited in the
Design view.
• Complete detail of the query – This
section contains a summary about the
query that has been created.
Step 11. Click on Finish button. The records
with CategoryID as C001 will be
displayed on the screen as shown
in Fig. 11.11. Observe the column
headings. Are all of them same as
the field names in the Events table?
Once the query is created, it can be edited
Fig. 11.11: Records retrieved from Query in Design view. We will study about Design
with CategoryID C001
View in the coming section.
Creating a Query in Design View
Another way to create a query is using the Design view.
This is a more flexible method to create a query from
either single or a multiple tables of a database. Let us
create a query to display records of Athletics category.
For this query, records have to be filtered from both
Events and EventCategory tables. Open Sports Day
database and follow the following steps to create a query
in Design View:
Step 1. Click Queries icon on the Objects
Pane in the Database Window.
Step 2. Click Create Query in Design View…
icon in the Tasks Pane. The Query
Design Window appears. In the
middle of the window the Add Table
or Query dialog box is displayed as
shown in Fig. 11.12.
Step 3. Click on the Event table to be used
in the query and then click on Add
Fig. 11.12: Create Query in Design View button. Alternatively double click on

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 the Events table. The table will be added to the
Tables Pane present at the top of the Query
Design window.
Step 4. Similarly add EventCategory table to
Tables Pane of the Query Design window.
Step 5. Click Close button in the Add Table or
Query dialog box to close it. The tables
Events and EventCategory added will be
displayed in the Table pane as shown in
Fig. 11.13.
Step 6. Next step is to select the fields. For our
query we want to display Event Name
and Winner from the Events table and
Category Name from the EventCategory
table. So in the list box of Events
Fig. 11.13: Table added in the Tables Pane
table, double click on EventName and
Winner field. Similarly add the field
CategoryName form EventCategory
table. The field name along with the table
name is displayed in the Design grid
present in the lower half of the Query
Design window as shown in Fig. 11.14.
Observe that the Visible Check Box is by
default selected. This means that all these
three fields will be visible when you run the
query. If you do not want the data values for the
particular field to be displayed, click to deselect
the respective check box.
Step 7. In the grid, there is a row titled Alias. Fig. 11.14: Adding fields to query

As mentioned before, it can be used to display

meaningful names in the output. For example,
instead of Winner, we would just like to display
Winner Name. For this, type Winner Name in
the Alias text box under Winner column as
shown in Fig. 11.14.
Step 8. By default, the data that is displayed as a
result of the query is not sorted. To sort the
records in either ascending or descending order
of a particular field, the Sort row is given in
the grid. For example, to display the records
in alphabetical order of Event Name, select
Ascending from the drop down list box visible
in the Sort row under Event Name column.

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 Step 9. Once the query is designed, click Run
Query ( ) button on the toolbar or press
F5 key. The query result will be displayed
in the Tables Pane area as shown in
Fig. 11.15.
Step 10.Click on Save button to save the query.
The Save As dialog box will be displayed as
shown in Fig. 11.16.
Step 11.By default, the Query Name as Query1
will be displayed. Type a different name
if required. Click on OK button to save
the query.
The name of the query will be seen in the Objects
area in the Database window. To run the query
Fig. 11.15: Query Result in again and see the result s of the query, double click
Tables Pane on the query name. The results of the query will be
displayed in a separate window.
To close the Query window, click on on close
button on the top right corner of the window.

Editing a Query
Fig. 11.16: Saving the query
To edit any query, click on the Query icon of the
query that has to be edited. The list of queries
that have been created will be displayed in the
Objects Area. Right click on the Query Name in the
Objects Area of the Database window, as shown in
Fig. 11.17.
Select Edit option from the drop down menu.
The Query Design window will be displayed. Let us
Fig. 11.17: Selecting Edit option
apply a criteria to display records of only Athletics
to edit query category. For this type Athletics in the Criterion
row under the Category Name column. Now, the
query design is complete if we run the query, the record
of only Athletics category will be displayed as shown in
Fig. 11.18.
We can use the Criterion row to apply multiple
conditions as well. Also note that we can apply all
relational operators like <, >, <=, >=, != and = for all
conditions that can be given in Criterion row. For
example, if you want to see only those records where
points scored are more than 10, then add Points field
to the grid and then set the Criterion for it as >10 as

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shown in Fig. 11.18. Now save and run the query.
Observe the output as shown in Fig. 11.18.

Working with Numerical Data

Till now, we have been displaying data from tables
in the query. But that is not all, we can even use
certain mathematical functions to find the count,
sum, minimum, maximum or average of data values.
Let us design a query to display the average points
for each category of events. In the Database Window,
click Create Query in Design View… button to
open the Query Design Window. Add Events and
EventsCategory tables. Thereafter follow the following
steps to display the average points for each category.
Step 1. Add Category Name field from EventCategory Fig. 11.18: Query result in Design
view after applying criteria to display
table and Points field from Events table. records of Athletics category
Step 2. Under the Category Name field, in the
Function row, click the down arrow. A drop
down list will be displayed as shown in
Fig. 11.19.
Step 3. Select Group option from the drop down
list. This option forms the groups for
each of the data values in the column of
Category Name.
Step 4. Similarly, under the Points column, select
the Average function from the drop down list.
Step 5. Press F5 to run the query. The query result
depicting average points in all the categories
will be displayed as shown in the Fig. 11.20.
Fig. 11.19: Function drop down list

Fig. 11.20: Query result in Design view after applying Group function
to Category Name and Average function to Points

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 notes Step 6. Further, we can also put conditions on groups
using the Criterion row. Say, for example to
display the average of only Athletics category,
type Athletics in the Criterion row under the
Category Name column. Now, if we run the
query the average of only Athletics category will
be displayed in the query result.

summary
• A query is used to retrieve and display data from
one or more tables in a database.
• A specific search criteria is given to the DBMS to
view the desired information.
• The result of the query is displayed in tabular
form with field names in columns and the records
in rows.
• A query can be created in three ways.
■ Using a Wizard
■ In Design View
■ In SQL view

Practical Exercises
Prakasan lives in Happy Home Society. He has created the
following tables in his database so as to store and manage the
maintenance dues received from flat owners of the society.
Table: Residents Details Table: Maintenance Dues

Flat no Receipt_Id
Owner Name Flat No
Contact No Date
Flat Category Amount

Create a query to display the following information

Flat No Owner Receipt Number Date Amount
(Please note the change in column headings)
Uzair manages a boys hostel in an engineering college. To
manage the records of the people saying in his hostel, he created
a database with the following related tables.

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 Table: Student_Details notes
Student_Id
Name
DOB
Course
Father’s Name
Contact No_student
Contact No_ guardian
Room No
Table: Room Details
Room No
Floor (data value can be first, second or third)
Category (data value can be AC / Non- AC)
Student Id
DOO (Date of occupancy)
Monthly Rent
Create a query to display the following tabular format
Room No Student Name Category Monthly Rent
Create a query that displays total monthly rent collected for
each category.
Project Work
Use the internet to study the process of working of hostels.
See, what all tables/fields/queries should be further added to
the existing database so that it is able to fully automate the
working of the boys hostel explained in the above exercise.
Thereafter make changes in the database created by you in
LibreOffice Base.

Check Your Progress

A. Multiple choice questions

1. Which of the following is refer to asking questions from

the database?
(a) Report
(b) Table
(c) Query
(d) Database
2. Which of the following are the ways to design a query?
(a) Wizard
(b) Design View
(c) SQL
(d) All of the above
3. Which is a flexible way to create a query?
(a) Wizard
(b) Design View
(c) Both (a) and (b)
(d) Neither (a) nor (b)

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 notes 4. Into how many parts is the query design window divided?
(a) One
(b) Two
(c) Three
(d) Four
5. Which of the following is NOT true about queries?
(a) It can be created using multiple tables
(b) Multiple queries can be created in a database
(c) A query can run multiple times
(d) A query once created cannot be edited
6. Which of the following is the shortcut key to run the query?
(a) F3
(b) F4
(c) F5
(d) F6
7. Which of the following functions can be performed on
numerical data while designing a query?
(a) Sum
(b) Minimum
(c) Maximum
(d) All of the above
8. In a Query Design wizard, which of the following buttons
is clicked to move a field from ‘Available fields’ list box to
‘Fields in the query‘ list box?
(a) >
(b) < 9
(c) ∨
(d) ∧
9. Which of the following relational operators can be applied
to set the criterion while designing a query in LibreOffice
Base?
(a) >
(b) =
(c) !=
(d) Add Form
10. Which of the following dialog box is present when the
Query Design window is opened for the first time to design
a query?
(a) Add Table
(b) Add Query
(c) Add Table or Query
(d) None of the above
11. Which of the following step is not performed if there is no
numerical data to be worked upon in a query?
(a) Selection of fields
(b) Giving Aliases
(c) Summarizing
(d) Selection of tables

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 B. State whether the following statements are True or False notes
1. You can run a query only once
2. A query cannot be created from multiple tables
3. The shortcut key to run a query is F5.
4. LibreOffice Base provides us with two ways to create a
query.
5. A query with numerical data cannot be saved.
6. By default the query result is not sorted.
7. A query can be used to display the average value of a
numerical field.
8. While designing a query, the criterion can be set on only
one field.
9. Alias is an alternative name for a field in a query.
10. In query Design window, the visible check box is selected
by default.
11. A query once created using a wizard can only be edited in
the Design view.

C. Fill in the blanks

1. A ____________ is a sort of question asked from a database.

2. The result of the query is displayed in ____________ form
with field names in columns
3. A query can be created in ________ways.
4. The Query Design window is divided into __________
sections.
5. The shortcut key to run the query is ______________.
6. The conditions to filter the records are set in the _________
row.
7. When a table is selected in a Query wizard, the corresponding
fields are displayed in the__________________list box.
8. The result of the query can be displayed in __________ or
_____________ order of any particular field of the table.
9. At the most __________ search conditions can be given in
the query wizard.
10. The last step of the Query wizard displays the entire
____________ of the query.
11. The _____________ view is a more flexible method to create
a query.
12. To edit any query, right click on the ________ icon of the
query that has to be edited.
13. In the _____________ row of the Query Design grid, we can
type the column heading that will be displayed instead of
field name when we run the query.

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 notes D. Answer the given questions

1. Define a query? What is the need of creating a query in a

database?
2. Rearrange the steps given below so as to create a query
using a wizard.
3. Give Alias
4. Select the fields
5. Set the criterion
6. Set the sorting order
7. Give table name
8. What all information is seen in the overview (last step) of
the Query wizard?
9. What is the use of Alias row in the Design grid of the Query
Design window?
10. Name any four mathematical functions that can be applied
to numerical data in a query.
11. Name the three ways of creating a query in LibreOffice
Base?

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 12
CHAPTER
Forms and Reports

IntroductIon
We know that tables in a database are used to store
data in an organized manner. For this we have to enter
data into the tables. As seen in previous chapters, data-
sheet view is used to enter data into the tables. The
row and column format of the data-sheet view is not
a user friendly interface. So it is required to develop a
user friendly data entry screen for data entry operator
or a user, who is not very well versed with computers.
Moreover, while doing data entry, the user may
accidentally or intentionally alter the data in the table.
Therefore LibreOffice Base provides the Form feature
for data entry purposes.
Also, when the user wants to retrieve and view
the data from one or more tables in a database using
queries, it is again displayed in data-sheet view. The
Report feature of OpenOffice Base helps to present the
retrieved data in a user friendly, understandable and
formatted manner.
Both reports and forms are considered as objects
of the database and are present in the Database
Pane of the LibreOffice Base User Interface. In this
chapter we will learn to create Forms and Reports using
LibreOffice Base.

Forms
A form is an object of the database that has a user
friendly interface where data can be entered and seen in
an attractive and easy-to-read format. For any database,
it is the front end for data entry and data modification.
It displays the data in a layout design by us and not just
in a simple row and column format.
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 notes Primarily, a form contains field controls arranged
in a presentable and user friendly manner. Each field
control consists of a label and the field value text box. A
label is a piece of text that specifies the data that should
be entered in the field value text box. A field value text
box is linked to the respective field in the table. We may
add all or selected fields from the table on the form. In
addition to field controls, it may contain some additional
text like titles, headings and names, graphics like logos,
list boxes and radio buttons.
There are two ways to create a form:
• Using a wizard
• Using the Design View

Creating a Form Using a Wizard

This is the simplest way to create a form. To explain how
to create a form using a wizard, we will get back to the
Sports Day database created in the previous chapters.
To create a form using wizard, follow the following steps.
Step 1. Open the Sports Day database created in
LibreOffice, and click the Form icon on the
Database Pane as shown in Fig. 12.1.

Fig. 12.1: Selecting Forms from Database Pane

Click the option Use Wizard to Create Form…

on the Tasks Pane. The Form wizard will open
along with a blank database form in design
view in the background as shown in Fig. 12.2.

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 notes

Fig. 12.2: Form Wizard and Database Form in Design View

Step 2. The step 1 of the wizard is to select the tables or
queries for which the form has to be created. As
we are creating a form for Events table, select
Events table from “Tables and queries” list box
as shown in Fig. 12.2.
Step 3. After selecting the Events table, all the fields of
the Events table will be listed in the Available
Fields list box as shown in Fig. 12.3.

Fig. 12.3: Fields of Events table listed in the Available Fields

Step 4. As we require all the fields to appear in the
Form, shift all the fields of Event table from
Available Fields list box to Fields in the Form
list box using >> button. Observe that in Fig.
12.4, all the fields are shifted to Fields in the
Form list box. Click on Next button to move
forward.

Fig. 12.4: All fields of Events table in Available Fields

are shifted to Fields in the Form

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 notes Step 5. The second step consists of setting up a
subform, i.e. a form within a form. You need
to check the checkbox “Add Subform” in
Fig. 12.5 to add the subform. Since we do not
want to set up any subform, click Next button
to proceed further.

Fig. 12.5: Step 2 Set up a subform

Step 6. The wizard skips the next two steps that relate
to the subform and moves on to step 5. This step
arrange controls i.e. to set up the design of the
form. Observe in Fig. 12.6 that, by default, all
controls will be left aligned. Click Right Align
radio button to align the controls from the right
side of the form. As mentioned before, a field
control consists of two parts – label and the
field value text box. So in this step we arrange
the label and field value text boxes as we want
them to be visible on the screen.

Fig. 12.6: Selecting the Layout of the form

Four layouts are given in this step of the wizard to
choose from:
• Columnar display with Labels on the left of the
field value

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 • Columnar display with Labels on top of the field notes
value
• Display as datasheet
• Block display with labels on top
Let us select Columnar Display with labels on the
left arrangement. Also note that as we choose the
Layout type, the fields are arranged in the Form Design
view also.
Step 7. Click Next button.
Step 8. The step 6 of the wizard asks whether the form
will be used for displaying data, entering data
or both. As we go with the default settings, so
we click Next button as shown in Fig. 12.7.

Fig. 12.7: Step 6 of form wizard

Step 9. The next step is to apply styles to the form being
created. We can select the desired background
colour and border type of the field value text
boxes. Observe in Fig. 12.8, by default the
border of the field text value is displayed in 3D
look. We can select the options No Border or
Flat if required.

Fig. 12.8: Applying styles to the form

Step 10.Click Next button.
Step 11.The next step is to set the name of the form.
By default the name of the form is same as the
name of the table. Click in the textbox and type
a different name if desired, say EventsForm,

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 notes as shown in Fig. 12.9. In the same step, by
default, the radio button with the option Work
with the form is selected. If you wish to modify
the form after the wizard finishes, click Modify
the form option.

Fig. 12.9: Assigning name to form

Step 12.Click Finish button. The form with the first
record will be displayed on the screen in
a separate window. Also, observe that in
Fig. 12.10, the name of the form, EventsForm
will appear in the Object Area of LibreOffice
User Interface window.

Fig. 12.10: Form created for Events table

As shown in Fig. 12.10, on the left of the Form Design
window is the Forms Control toolbar and at the bottom
is the Records toolbar.
Forms Control Toolbar
This toolbar contains various controls that can be added
to the form. We will learn about some of the controls
later in the chapter.
Records Toolbar
The Records toolbar contains the navigation control
buttons in the extreme left. With the help of these

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buttons, we can traverse and view the records in notes
the file. As we move from one record to another, the
record number in the record text boxes changes.
Fig. 12.11 shows the navigation control buttons, there
are commands to add a new record, save a record, delete
a record and so on.

Fig. 12.11: Records toolbar

Modifying a Form
It is possible to modify the form in any manner once
it is created. The modification can be to change the
background color, font size and color of the text or even
positioning of various controls in the form.
Changing the background color
Follow the following steps to change the background
color of the form.
Step 1. Open OpenOffice Base User Interface for
Sports Day database and click on Forms icon
in the Database Pane. The name of the saved
form (EventsForm) will be displayed in the
Objects Area.
Step 2. Right click on the form name and select Edit…
option. A separate Form Design View will open.
Step 3. To change the background color of the form,
right click on the form and select Page Style...
option from the pop up menu as shown in
Fig. 12.12.

Fig. 12.12: Selecting the Page Style option from the Edit pop down

Step 4. The Page Style dialog box will appear, where

you select Area tab and choose the desired
color from the palette, as shown in Fig. 12.13.
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 notes

Fig. 12.13: Selecting Colors Palette in Page Style dialog box

Step 5. Click on OK button. The selected color will be
applied on the form as shown in Fig. 12.14.

Fig. 12.14: Forms with changed background color

Editing the labels

To edit the labels, either by changing the text or by
changing the formatting effects, follow the following
steps.
Step 1. Place the mouse pointer over the label, say
EventID to change it.
Step 2. Press the keyboard shortcut key Ctrl+Click to
select the label. The position boxes will appear
around the label.
Step 3. Right click on the selected label and select
Control Properties… option from the pop up
menu as shown in Fig. 12.15.

Fig. 12.15: Selecting Control Properties by right clicking on the label

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Step 4. The Properties: Label Field dialog box will notes
appear as shown in Fig. 12.16. It contains
various properties of the selected label. In the
text box after Label property, type Event ID. The
label caption on the form changes accordingly.

Fig. 12.16: Changing the label caption from the Properties Label Field

Similarly we can change other properties of the

selected label like width, height, alignment,
font style and font size.
Step 5. After making the desired changes close the
Properties dialog box by clicking the cross
(x) button on the top right of the dialog box.
The changes made will be applied on the
selected text.

Moving a control
It is possible to move the to another location in the
form. Click on the control that has to be moved. Both the
label and the text box for field value will be selected and
position handlers will be placed around the control. If
only one of these have to be re-positioned then press Ctrl
key while clicking on that control. Now, click and drag
the control to move to the desired location (Fig. 12.17).

Fig. 12.17: Moving a control

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 notes Changing the size of the textbox control
To change the size of the textbox control, press Ctrl
button while clicking on the textbox. It will be selected
with position handlers around it. Place the mouse
pointer on any of these handlers. It will change to a
double sided arrow. Click and drag them to the desired size.
Adding a Tool tip
A tool-tip is a small piece of text that is displayed when
the mouse pointer is placed on a particular control. Say
for example, if the mouse pointer is placed over EventID
text-box, a message ‘Enter Event Identification Number’
can be displayed. This will make entering data for the
user easy. Such type of text that appears when the
mouse pointer is placed on a particular control is called
the tool-tip text or help text. Let us add a tool-tip for
EventID control by following the steps given below.
Step 1. Press Ctrl button and click on EventID text box.
Step 2. Right click and select Control Properties…
option. The Properties: Text Box dialog box
will be displayed as shown in Fig. 12.18.

Fig. 12.18: Adding a tooltip in Properties Text Box

Step 3. In the dialog box, scroll down till Help Text
property appears.
Step 4. Type ‘Enter Event Identification number’ in the
text box.
Step 5. Close the dialog box by clicking on cross (X)
button. Now, if the mouse pointer is placed over
EventID text box, the tool tip will be displayed
as shown in the Fig. 12.19.

Fig. 12.19: Displaying tool tip

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Forms Controls Toolbar notes
The forms control toolbar contains various tools to add
or edit controls on the form. Let us learn to use few of
these tools.
Adding a calendar for the date field
While filling up a form on a computer, mostly a calendar
is displayed. This is because it is easy to choose a date
rather than typing it. To add the calendar to the date
field in the form, follow the steps given below:
Step 1. Place the mouse pointer over the Date text box
and press Ctrl+Click to select it.
Step 2. Right click and select Control Properties….
option.
Step 3. In the Properties: Date Field dialog box, scroll
down for Date Format property. By default,
Standard (short) format will be displayed.
Step 4. Click to open the list box and select Standard
(long) format.
Step 5. Scroll down further till you find the DropDown
property. By default its value will be No. Select
Yes. The control properties set is shown in
Fig. 12.20.

Fig. 12.20: Control Properties set for Date field

Step 6. Close the dialog box. The selected date control
text box on the form changes to a list box with
an arrow being displayed in the extreme right
as shown in Fig. 12.21.

Fig. 12.21: Date Control field with Calender

Adding text to the form

While designing a form, we may need to enter titles,
headings or subheadings. It is called as Labels. It is

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 possible to create Labels in the form while designing.
Follow the following steps to insert the title text in
the form.
Step 1. Click the Label ( ) tool on the Form Controls
tool box as shown in Fig. 12.22.
Step 2. On the form, click and drag the mouse to
create a label field box. It will also have position
handlers.
Fig. 12.22: Selecting Label icon Step 3. Double click on box to open the Properties:
on Form Controls tool box Label Field dialog box.
Step 4. Type the title as “Data Entry Form” in the Label
property, as shown in Fig. 12.23.
Step 5. Set the Font property by clicking the Font
button in front of the Font property. The
Character dialog box will be displayed as
shown in Fig. 12.24, where you can set the font
type, style and size. Choose the desired font
style and size and click on OK button.
Step 6. Close the Properties: Label Field dialog box.
Fig. 12.23: Properties Label The title with the selected formatting effects
Field dialog box for the
created label
will be displayed on the form.
After applying and editing various controls, the
final form for entering data in the Events table
looks as shown in Fig. 12.25.

Fig. 12.24: Setting font type,

style and size in Character
dialog box Fig. 12.25: Modified Data Entry Form for Events table

Adding a new record using a form

After you have finished designing the form, you can
display or insert records using this form. For this
purpose, you have to shift from Design View to Form
View by clicking on Design Mode button on the Forms
Controls toolbar. The Form View window appears with
the first record displayed in the respective text boxes as
shown in the Fig. 12.26.

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 notes

Fig. 12.26: Displaying form in Design view by clicking on Design Mode

button on Form Controls
To add a new record into the table using this form,
click on New Record button on the Records toolbar as
shown in Fig. 12.27.

Fig. 12.27: Adding a new record by clicking on New Record

A blank form with the cursor blinking in the first text

box i.e. EventID will be displayed.

Fig. 12.28: New blank record showing the next record number

Observe that the record pointer shows the record 11,

as there were already 10 records in the table. Once the
record is entered, click on Save Record button on the
Records toolbar to save the record in the table.
To delete any record, navigate to the record by either
typing the record number in the Record text box or by

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 notes using the navigation buttons. Thereafter click Delete
button on the Records toolbar. The next record will be
displayed in the form.
To toggle between Design view and Form view press
Design Mode button on the Forms Controls toolbar.
When we create a form in Design View, all the controls
are placed on the form using various tools given in the
Forms Control toolbar.

Reports
A report is another useful feature of a database
management system. We have seen that the records
that have been extracted using a query are displayed
in a simple row and column format. Instead, using a
report we can present the retrieved data in an attractive
and customized manner. We can create a report based
on a table or a query or both. Preferably, if a report has
to be generated from multiple tables, a query should
be created first and then that query can be used to
generate the report.
Let us create a report using the table Events from
the Sports Day database. Follow the following steps to
create a report.
Step 1. In the LibreOffice Base User Interface, click
on the Reports icon in the Database Pane.
Step 2. From the Tasks Pane, click Use Wizard to
Create Report… option.
Step 3. The Report wizard along with two other
windows will be displayed. One of the window
is Report Builder window and the other is Add
Field dialog box. We will confine our study to
the wizard (Fig. 12.29).

Fig. 12.29: Report Wizard, Report Builder and Add Fields dialog box
Step 4. The first step of wizard is to select the table
and the corresponding fields that we want to

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 display in our report. From the Tables or
Queries list box, select the table Events.
Step 5. All the fields of the Events table will be
listed in the Available Fields list box.
Click >> button to shift all the fields
to Fields in report list box. Fig. 12.30
shows the Fields in report list box after
shifting.
Step 6. Click on the Next button. The next step is Fig. 12.30: Selecting table Events and
to label the fields. By default, the column fields after shifting to Fields in report
list box
headers will be displayed as labels or
column headers for the field values. As
fields names are generally shortened, to
change to more self-explanatory names,
type the new names in the respective
text boxes.
Step 7. Click on the Next button. The next step
is to group the data based on any of the
fields in the report. Since we do not want
to group as of now, click on the Next Fig. 12.31: Step 2 of wizard Labelling
button. the fields
Step 8. The fourth step is to set the Sort options.
If the data to be displayed in the report
has to be sorted in either ascending or
descending order of a particular field,
specify the field and sorting order in
this step. Say, for example, select the
field EventID. The radio button for
Ascending is already selected. Select
Descending radio button to display the
records in descending order as shown in Fig. 12.32: Setting the Sorting options
Fig. 12.32.
Step 9. Click on the Next button to move on to
the next step in which the layout of the
report will be selected.
Step 10. A layout is the manner in which the
labels, field values and titles will be
displayed in the report. Out of various
Layout options given, choose the desired
layout, say Tabular and also the layout
of headers and footers (Default). You Fig. 12.33: Choosing the Layout
may also choose the orientation option
Landscape or Portrait in this step.

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 notes Keep the default orientation option Landscape
selected by default as shown in Fig. 12.33.
Step 11. Click on the Next button to move to last step.
Here we name the report and to specify the
manner in which we want to proceed after the
wizard finishes. Type the name of the report as
EventsReport, as shown in Fig. 12.34. By default
the type of report is Dynamic. That means as the
field values in the base table or query change,
the report will also change automatically. If you
don’t want automatic updation of the report,
choose the Static option. In this step, specify
whether you would like to modify the report
or create the report once the wizard finishes.
Select the default option to create the report
with current setting.

Fig. 12.34: Step 6 Create report of the wizard

Step 12. Click on Finish button to display the report as

shown in Fig. 12.35.

Fig. 12.35: Report generated from Events table

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Inserting other controls in the report notes
As you can observe the report generated in Fig. 12.35,
the report is very simple and boring. We can make it
more presentable by inserting some more controls like
titles, author name, date of generation of report etc.
Right click on the Report name (EventsReport) on the
LibreOffice User Interface and then select the Edit…
option. The Report Builder window will open as shown
in Fig. 12.36. In this window, various controls can be
inserted using the Report Controls toolbar.

Fig. 12.36: Report Builder window

Inserting Titles and Headings

To insert the title of the report, follow the following steps.
Step 1. Click on the Label tool available on the Report
Controls toolbar.
Step 2. Bring the mouse pointer on the report. Click
and drag to insert the label textbox.
Step 3. Double click on it to open the Properties dialog
box. Type the title text that you want to display
in the Label property textbox, say “Annual
Sports Day Report” and also set the font style
and size using the Font property as shown in
Fig. 12.37.

Fig. 12.37: Assigning label name and setting font in Properties dialog box

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 notes Step 4. Close the Properties dialog box. Double click on
the EventsReport in the Reports of Database
Pane. The report will be displayed with with the
formatted effects as shown in Fig. 12.38.

Fig. 12.38: Report with formatted effects

Inserting Date and Time

To insert the date on which the report is generated,
follow the following steps.
Step 1. Click in the Page Header area to make it active.
Step 2. Click Insert > Date and Time… option as
shown in Fig. 12.39.

Fig. 12.39: Inserting Date and Time in Header

Step 3. The Date and Time dialog box will be displayed
as shown in Fig. 12.40. Select the desired
format for date and time format and click on
OK button.

Fig. 12.40: Date and Time dialog boxu

The date will be inserted on the top left corner
of the Page Header area. You may click and

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 drag it to reposition it in any place in the Page notes
Header area. The final report looks as shown in
Fig. 12.41.

Fig. 12.41: Report with Title and Date

To create a report that groups the retrieved
data according to a particular field, specify the
field name according to which the retrieved
data has to be grouped in step 3 of the wizard.
For example, if we want to display the details of
events category wise, shift CategoryID field to
Groupings list box as shown in Fig. 12.42.

Fig. 12.42: Moving CategoryID for Grouping records

The category wise report will be generated as
shown shown in Fig. 12.43.

Fig. 12.43: Report generated Category wise

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 notes summary
• A form is an object of the database that has a user
friendly interface where data can be entered and
seen in an attractive and easy-to-read format.
• A form contains field controls arranged in a
presentable and user friendly manner.
• Each field control consists of a label and the field
value text box.
• There are two ways to create a form – Using a
wizard, Using the Design View
• The forms control toolbar contains various tools
to add or edit controls on the form.
• A report is used to present the retrieved data in
an attractive and customized manner.
• We can create a report based on a table or a query
or both.

Practical Exercises
1. Prakasan lives in Happy Home Society. He has created
the following tables in his database so as to store and
manage the maintenance dues received from flat owners of
the society.
Table: Residents Details
Receipt_Id
Flat No
Date
Amount

Table : Maintenance Dues

Flat no
Owner Name
Contact No
Flat Category

In the previous chapter, Prakasan had created a query to display

the following information
Flat No Owner Receipt Number Date Amount
(Please note the change in column headings)
Create a form for data entry of Resident Details and Maintenance
Dues table. Also create a report based on the query created above.

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 2. Uzair manages a boys hostel in an engineering college. To
notes
manage the records of the people saying in his hostel, he
created a database with the following related tables.
Table : Student_Details
Student_Id
Name
DOB
Course
Father’s Name
Contact No_student
Contact No_ guardian
Room No
Table: Room Details
Room No
Floor (data value can be first, second or third)
Category (data value can be AC / Non- AC)
Student Id
DOO (Date of occupancy)
Monthly Rent
Create a query to display the following tabular format
Room No Student Name Category Monthly Rent
Create a query that displays total monthly rent collected for each
category.
Create a form for data entry of both the tables.
Generate a report the displays information retrieved from both
the queries in a presentable manner.

Check Your Progress

A. Multiple choice questions

1. Which of the following toolbars contains the Label tool?

(a) Standard Toolbar
(b) Forms Controls Toolbar
(c) Records toolbar
(d) Formatting toolbar
2. The Record toolbar has the buttons to move to the
(a) first record
(b) second record
(c) last record
(d) all records
3. Which of the following is NOT true about forms?
(a) It is the front end for data entry
(b) It can contain only text fields
(c) Graphics can be inserted on the form
(d) It can contain only fixed number of records

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 notes 4. Which of the following keys is pressed to select only textbox
on the form?
(a) Alt
(b) Shift
(c) Ctrl
(d) Tab
5. Which of the following properties in the Properties: Label
Field text box is used to insert a tool-tip on the form?
(a) Tool Text
(b) Help Text
(c) Tool Tip
(d) Help Tip
6. Which of the following objects of LibreOffice Base is used
to display data retrieved from one or more tables in a
presentable manner?
(a) Query
(b) Form
(c) Report
(d) Panel
7. Which of the following values of Date Format property is
selected to view a calendar on the form?
(a) Standard (short)
(b) Standard (long)
(c) Default
(d) Standard (Medium)
8. Which of the following commands on the Forms Control
toolbar is used to toggle between Design View and Form
view?
(a) Design Mode
(b) Toggle Mode
(c) View Mode
(d) Print mode
9. Using which of the following objects in a database, can a
report be generated?
(a) Tables
(b) Queries
(c) Both a and b
(d) Neither a nor b
10. Which of the following components open along with the
Report Wizard?
(a) Report Builder
(b) Add Fields dialog box
(c) Both (a) and (b)
(d) Neither (a) nor (b)

B. State whether the following statements are True or False

1. Report is an object of a database but form is not.

2. We can choose the layout of the form.

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 3. We have to add all fields of the table on the form. notes
4. There are two ways n which a form can be created.
5. A report is generated in a separate window.
6. Once a control is added on to the form, it cannot be re-
positioned.
7. The Record toolbar has the button to add a new record.
8. We can create a report only using a table.
9. By default, the records in a report are sorted in descending
order.
10. We can group data based on a particular field in a report.
11. A report can have data only in row and column format.
12. We can insert both date and time of generation of report.
13. A report once created cannot be edited.

C. Fill in the blanks

1. A form can be used for ____________ and _____________.

2. Each field control consists of a ____________and
________________
3. A ________________ is a piece of text that specifies the data
that should be entered in the field value text box.
4. By default the border of the field text value is displayed in
_________.
5. A ____________ is a small piece of text that is displayed
when the mouse pointer is placed on a particular control
on the form.
6. The default orientation option for a report is _______________.
7. A ____________ is the manner in which the labels, field
values, titles etc. will be displayed in the report.
8. The option to insert date and time in the report is present
in ___________ menu.
9. A Report Wizard contains _____________ steps.
10. A _______ type of report changes automatically as the field
values in the base table or query change.

D. Answer the following questions

1. Give one difference between a form and a report.

2. What is a field control with respect to forms?
3. Which tool on the Forms Record toolbar is used to insert
text on the form?
4. Name the two ways to create a form in LibreOffice Base.
5. What is the difference between a static and a dynamic
report?
6. Write the function of Forms Controls toolbar and Records
toolbar.

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