Mapping Constraints

o A mapping constraint is a data constraint that expresses the number of

entities to which another entity can be related via a relationship set.

o It is most useful in describing the relationship sets that involve more than two
entity sets.

o For binary relationship set R on an entity set A and B, there are four possible
mapping cardinalities. These are as follows:

1. One to one (1:1)

2. One to many (1:M)

3. Many to one (M:1)

4. Many to many (M:M)

One-to-one
In one-to-one mapping, an entity in E1 is associated with at most one entity
in E2, and an entity in E2 is associated with at most one entity in E1.

One-to-many
In one-to-many mapping, an entity in E1 is associated with any number of
entities in E2, and an entity in E2 is associated with at most one entity in E1.
Many-to-one
In one-to-many mapping, an entity in E1 is associated with at most one
entity in E2, and an entity in E2 is associated with any number of entities in
E1.

Many-to-many
In many-to-many mapping, an entity in E1 is associated with any number of
entities in E2, and an entity in E2 is associated with any number of entities in
E1.
Keys
o Keys play an important role in the relational database.

o It is used to uniquely identify any record or row of data from the table. It is
also used to establish and identify relationships between tables.

For example: In Student table, ID is used as a key because it is unique for

each student. In PERSON table, passport_number, license_number, SSN are
keys since they are unique for each person.
Types of key:

1. Primary key
o It is the frst key which is used to identify one and only one instance of an
entity uniquely. An entity can contain multiple keys as we saw in PERSON
table. The key which is most suitable from those lists become a primary key.

o In the EMPLOYEE table, ID can be primary key since it is unique for each
employee. In the EMPLOYEE table, we can even select License_Number and
Passport_Number as primary key since they are also unique.

o For each entity, selection of the primary key is based on requirement and
developers.
2. Candidate key
o A candidate key is an attribute or set of an attribute which can uniquely
identify a tuple.

o The remaining attributes except for primary key are considered as a

candidate key. The candidate keys are as strong as the primary key.

For example: In the EMPLOYEE table, id is best suited for the primary key.
Rest of the attributes like SSN, Passport_Number, and License_Number, etc.
are considered as a candidate key.
3. Super Key
Super key is a set of an attribute which can uniquely identify a tuple. Super
key is a superset of a candidate key.

For example: In the above EMPLOYEE table, for(EMPLOEE_ID,

EMPLOYEE_NAME) the name of two employees can be the same, but their
EMPLYEE_ID can't be the same. Hence, this combination can also be a key.

The super key would be EMPLOYEE-ID, (EMPLOYEE_ID, EMPLOYEE-NAME),

etc.

4. Foreign key
o Foreign keys are the column of the table which is used to point to the primary
key of another table.

o In a company, every employee works in a specifc department, and employee

and department are two diferent entities. So we can't store the information
 of the department in the employee table. That's why we link these two tables
through the primary key of one table.

o We add the primary key of the DEPARTMENT table, Department_Id as a new

attribute in the EMPLOYEE table.

o Now in the EMPLOYEE table, Department_Id is the foreign key, and both the
tables are related.

Generalization
o Generalization is like a bottom-up approach in which two or more entities of
lower level combine to form a higher level entity if they have some attributes
in common.

o In generalization, an entity of a higher level can also combine with the

entities of the lower level to form a further higher level entity.
 o Generalization is more like subclass and superclass system, but the only
diference is the approach. Generalization uses the bottom-up approach.

o In generalization, entities are combined to form a more generalized entity,

i.e., subclasses are combined to make a superclass.

For example, Faculty and Student entities can be generalized and create a
higher level entity Person.

Specialization
o Specialization is a top-down approach, and it is opposite to Generalization. In
specialization, one higher level entity can be broken down into two lower
level entities.

o Specialization is used to identify the subset of an entity set that shares some
distinguishing characteristics.

o Normally, the superclass is defned frst, the subclass and its related
attributes are defned next, and relationship set are then added.
For example: In an Employee management system, EMPLOYEE entity can
be specialized as TESTER or DEVELOPER based on what role they play in the
company.

Aggregation
In aggregation, the relation between two entities is treated as a single entity.
In aggregation, relationship with its corresponding entities is aggregated into
a higher level entity.

For example: Center entity ofers the Course entity act as a single entity in
the relationship which is in a relationship with another entity visitor. In the
real world, if a visitor visits a coaching center then he will never enquiry
about the Course only or just about the Center instead he will ask the
enquiry about both.