ER Model

Peter Chen developed the ER diagram in 1976. The ER model was created to
provide a simple and understandable model for representing the structure and
logic of databases. It has since evolved into variations such as the Enhanced ER
Model and the Object Relationship Model
The Entity Relational Model is a model for identifying entities to be represented in
the database and representation of how those entities are related. The ER data
model specifies enterprise schema that represents the overall logical structure of
a database graphically.
The Entity Relationship Diagram explains the relationship among the entities
present in the database. ER models are used to model real-world objects like a
person, a car, or a company and the relation between these real-world objects. In
short, the ER Diagram is the structural format of the database.
Why Use ER Diagrams In DBMS?
• ER diagrams represent the E-R model in a database, making them easy to
convert into relations (tables).
• ER diagrams provide the purpose of real-world modeling of objects which
makes them intently useful.
• ER diagrams require no technical knowledge and no hardware support.
• These diagrams are very easy to understand and easy to create even for a
naive user.
• It gives a standard solution for visualizing the data logically.
Symbols Used in ER Model
ER Model is used to model the logical view of the system from a data perspective
which consists of these symbols:
• Rectangles: Rectangles represent Entities in the ER Model.
• Ellipses: Ellipses represent Attributes in the ER Model.
• Diamond: Diamonds represent Relationships among Entities.
• Lines: Lines represent attributes to entities and entity sets with other
relationship types.
• Double Ellipse: Double Ellipses represent Multi-Valued Attributes.
• Double Rectangle: Double Rectangle represents a Weak Entity.
•
 Symbols used in ER Diagram

Components of ER Diagram
ER Model consists of Entities, Attributes, and Relationships among Entities in a
Database System.

Components of ER Diagram
What is Entity?
An Entity may be an object with a physical existence – a particular person, car,
house, or employee – or it may be an object with a conceptual existence – a
company, a job, or a university course.
What is Entity Set?
An Entity is an object of Entity Type and a set of all entities is called an entity set.
For Example, E1 is an entity having Entity Type Student and the set of all students
is called Entity Set. In ER diagram, Entity Type is represented as:

Entity Set

We can represent the entity set in ER Diagram but can’t represent entity in ER
Diagram because entity is row and column in the relation and ER Diagram is
graphical representation of data.
Types of Entity
There are two types of entity:
1. Strong Entity
A Strong Entity is a type of entity that has a key Attribute. Strong Entity does not
depend on other Entity in the Schema. It has a primary key, that helps in
identifying it uniquely, and it is represented by a rectangle. These are called Strong
Entity Types.
2. Weak Entity
An Entity type has a key attribute that uniquely identifies each entity in the entity
set. But some entity type exists for which key attributes can’t be defined. These are
called Weak Entity types .
For Example, A company may store the information of dependents (Parents,
Children, Spouse) of an Employee. But the dependents can’t exist without the
employee. So Dependent will be a Weak Entity Type and Employee will be
Identifying Entity type for Dependent, which means it is Strong Entity Type .
A weak entity type is represented by a Double Rectangle. The participation of weak
entity types is always total. The relationship between the weak entity type and its
identifying strong entity type is called identifying relationship and it is
represented by a double diamond.

Strong Entity and Weak Entity

What is Attributes?
Attributes are the properties that define the entity type. For example, Roll_No,
Name, DOB, Age, Address, and Mobile_No are the attributes that define entity type
Student. In ER diagram, the attribute is represented by an oval.

Attribute

Types of Attributes
1. Key Attribute
The attribute which uniquely identifies each entity in the entity set is called the
key attribute. For example, Roll_No will be unique for each student. In ER diagram,
the key attribute is represented by an oval with underlying lines.

Key Attribute

2. Composite Attribute
An attribute composed of many other attributes is called a composite attribute.
For example, the Address attribute of the student Entity type consists of Street,
City, State, and Country. In ER diagram, the composite attribute is represented by
an oval comprising of ovals.
 Composite Attribute

3. Multivalued Attribute
An attribute consisting of more than one value for a given entity. For example,
Phone_No (can be more than one for a given student). In ER diagram, a multivalued
attribute is represented by a double oval.

Multivalued Attribute

4. Derived Attribute
An attribute that can be derived from other attributes of the entity type is known
as a derived attribute. e.g.; Age (can be derived from DOB). In ER diagram, the
derived attribute is represented by a dashed oval.

Derived Attribute
The Complete Entity Type Student with its Attributes can be represented as:

Entity and Attributes

Relationship Type and Relationship Set

A Relationship Type represents the association between entity types. For example,
‘Enrolled in’ is a relationship type that exists between entity type Student and
Course. In ER diagram, the relationship type is represented by a diamond and
connecting the entities with lines.

Entity-Relationship Set

A set of relationships of the same type is known as a relationship set. The following
relationship set depicts S1 as enrolled in C2, S2 as enrolled in C1, and S3 as
registered in C3.
 Relationship Set

Degree of a Relationship Set

The number of different entity sets participating in a relationship set is called
the degree of a relationship set.
1. Unary Relationship: When there is only ONE entity set participating in a
relation, the relationship is called a unary relationship. For example, one person is
married to only one person.

Unary Relationship

2. Binary Relationship: When there are TWO entities set participating in a

relationship, the relationship is called a binary relationship. For example, a
Student is enrolled in a Course.

Binary Relationship
3. Ternary Relationship: When there are three entity sets participating in a
relationship, the relationship is called a ternary relationship.
4. N-ary Relationship: When there are n entities set participating in a
relationship, the relationship is called an n-ary relationship.
What is Cardinality?
The number of times an entity of an entity set participates in a relationship set is
known as cardinality . Cardinality can be of different types:
1. One-to-One: When each entity in each entity set can take part only once in the
relationship, the cardinality is one-to-one. Let us assume that a male can marry
one female and a female can marry one male. So the relationship will be one-to-
one.
the total number of tables that can be used in this is 2.

one to one cardinality

2. One-to-Many: In one-to-many mapping as well where each entity can be

related to more than one entity and the total number of tables that can be used in
this is 2. Let us assume that one surgeon department can accommodate many
doctors. So the Cardinality will be 1 to M. It means one department has many
Doctors.
total number of tables that can used is 3.
 one to many cardinality

3. Many-to-One: When entities in one entity set can take part only once in the
relationship set and entities in other entity sets can take part more than once in
the relationship set, cardinality is many to one. Let us assume that a student can
take only one course but one course can be taken by many students. So the
cardinality will be n to 1. It means that for one course there can be n students but
for one student, there will be only one course.
The total number of tables that can be used in this is 3.

many to one cardinality

In this case, each student is taking only 1 course but 1 course has been taken by
many students.
4. Many-to-Many: When entities in all entity sets can take part more than once in
the relationship cardinality is many to many. Let us assume that a student can take
more than one course and one course can be taken by many students. So the
relationship will be many to many.
the total number of tables that can be used in this is 3.

many to many cardinality

In this example, student S1 is enrolled in C1 and C3 and Course C3 is enrolled by

S1, S3, and S4. So it is many-to-many relationships.
Participation Constraint
Participation Constraint is applied to the entity participating in the relationship
set.
1. Total Participation – Each entity in the entity set must participate in the
relationship. If each student must enroll in a course, the participation of students
will be total. Total participation is shown by a double line in the ER diagram.
2. Partial Participation – The entity in the entity set may or may NOT participate
in the relationship. If some courses are not enrolled by any of the students, the
participation in the course will be partial.
The diagram depicts the ‘Enrolled in’ relationship set with Student Entity set
having total participation and Course Entity set having partial participation.
 Total Participation and Partial Participation

Every student in the Student Entity set participates in a relationship but there
exists a course C4 that is not taking part in the relationship.
How to Draw ER Diagram?
• The very first step is Identifying all the Entities, and place them in a Rectangle,
and labeling them accordingly.
• The next step is to identify the relationship between them and place them
accordingly using the Diamond, and make sure that, Relationships are not
connected to each other.
• Attach attributes to the entities properly.
• Remove redundant entities and relationships.
• Add proper colors to highlight the data present in the database.
Conclusion
An Entity-Relationship (ER) model is a way to visually represent the structure of
a database. It shows how different entities (like objects or concepts) are connected
and interact with each other through relationships. The model uses diagrams to
represent entities as rectangles and relationships as diamonds, making it easier to
design and understand databases .