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Introduction To Relational Model

The document outlines the fundamentals of the relational model in database management systems, covering topics such as the structure of relational databases, database schema and instances, keys, and relational query languages. It explains the concepts of attributes, tuples, super keys, candidate keys, and primary keys, along with examples of relations like 'Instructor' and 'teaches'. Additionally, it distinguishes between procedural and non-procedural query languages, emphasizing relational algebra as a key focus area.

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7 views15 pages

Introduction To Relational Model

The document outlines the fundamentals of the relational model in database management systems, covering topics such as the structure of relational databases, database schema and instances, keys, and relational query languages. It explains the concepts of attributes, tuples, super keys, candidate keys, and primary keys, along with examples of relations like 'Instructor' and 'teaches'. Additionally, it distinguishes between procedural and non-procedural query languages, emphasizing relational algebra as a key focus area.

Uploaded by

shrutibarua5
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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CS 212 Database Management System

Introduction to Relational Model


Outline

 Structure of Relational Databases


 Database Schema and Instance
 Keys
 Relational Query Languages
 The Relational Algebra
Example of a Relation: Instructor relation
attributes
(or columns)

tuples
(or rows)
Example of a Relation: teaches relation
Attribute
 The set of allowed values for each attribute is called the domain
of the attribute
 Roll #: Alphanumeric string
 Fname, Lname: Alphabetic string
 DoB: Date
 Passport #: String (Letter followed by 7 digits)- nullable
 Aadhaar #: 12-digit number
 Department: Alphabetic string
 Attribute values are (normally) required to be atomic; that is,
indivisible
 The special value null is a member of every domain. It indicates
that the value is “unknown”
Students
Roll # Fname Lname DoB Passport # Aadhaar # Department
15CS1026 Lalit Dubey 27-Mar-1997 L4032464 172861749239 Computer
16EE3029 Jatin Chopra 17-Nov-1996 null 152861649112 Mathematics
Database Schema and Instance
 A1, A2, A3…..,An are attributes
 R (A1, A2, A3…..,An) is a relation schema
 Example:
instructor (ID, name, dept_name, salary)
 Formally, for given sets D1, D2,…….Dn, a relation r is a subset of
D1 x D2 x…….x Dn
 The current values (relation instance) of a relation are specified by a
table
 An element t of r is a tuple, represented by a row in a table
 A finite set of tuples in the relational database system represents
relation instance
Database Schema and Instance

 Database schema: It is the logical structure of the database


 Database instance: It is a snapshot of the data in the database at a
given instant of time
 Example:
 schema: instructor (ID, name, dept_name, salary)
 Instance:
Relations are Unordered

 Order of tuples is irrelevant (tuples may be stored in an arbitrary order)

 Example: instructor relation with unordered tuples


Keys
 Let K  R
 K is a super key of R if values for K are sufficient to identify a
unique tuple of each possible relation r(R)
 Example: {ID} and {ID, name} are both super keys of instructor.

 Super key K is a candidate key if K is minimal


Example: {ID} is a candidate key for Instructor

 One of the candidate keys is selected to be the primary key.

 A surrogate key (or synthetic key) in a database is a unique


identifier for an entity set in the modeled world (or database)
 The surrogate key is not derived from application data, unlike a natural
key, which is derived from application data
Keys
 Super Key: Roll#, {Roll#, DoB}, …………
 Candidate Keys: Roll#, Aadhaar#, {Fname, Lname}
 Passport# cannot be a key. Why?

 Primary Key: Roll#


 Secondary/Alternate Key: {Fname, Lname}, Aadhaar#

Students
Roll # Fname Lname DoB Passport # Aadhaar # Department
15CS1026 Lalit Dubey 27-Mar-1997 L4032464 172861749239 Computer
16EE3029 Jatin Chopra 17-Nov-1996 null 152861649112 Mathematics
16EC2016 Smriti Mongra 23-Dec-1996 G3200125 190852699005 Electronics
16CE4038 Ramdin Minz 21-Jan-1995 X8300127 165721079131 Civil
Keys
 Simple Key: Consists of a single attribute
 Composite Key: {Fname, Lname}
 Consists of more than one attribute to uniquely identify an entity
 One or more of the attributes, which make up the key, are not simple
keys in their own right

Students
Roll # Fname Lname DoB Passport # Aadhaar # Department
15CS1026 Lalit Dubey 27-Mar-1997 L4032464 172861749239 Computer
16EE3029 Jatin Chopra 17-Nov-1996 null 152861649112 Mathematics
16EC2016 Smriti Mongra 23-Dec-1996 G3200125 190852699005 Electronics
16CE4038 Ramdin Minz 21-Jan-1995 X8300127 165721079131 Civil
Keys
 Foreign key constraint: Value in one relation must appear in another
relation
 Referencing relation: Enrolment
 Foreign keys- Roll#, Course#
 Referenced relations: Students, Courses
 Compound key: A compound key consists of more than one attribute to
uniquely identify an entity occurrence
 Each attribute, which makes up the key, is a simple key in its own right
 {Roll#, Course#}

Students
Roll # Fname Lname DoB Passport # Aadhaar # Department

Courses
Course# Course Name Credits L-T-P Department
Enrolment
Roll # Course# Instructor ID
Relational Query Languages
Procedural vs. Non-procedural (or Declarative) languages

 Procedural programming requires that the programmer tell


the computer what to do
 That is, how to get the output from given inputs
 The programmer must know an appropriate algorithm

 Non-procedural programming: The programmer does not


provide a specific procedure for obtaining output
 The programmer only need to know what relationships hold between
input and output
 Example: Root of n is m such that m2 = n
Relational Query Languages
 “Pure” query languages:
 Relational algebra
 Tuple relational calculus
 Domain relational calculus
 The above 3 pure languages are equivalent in computing
power
 We will concentrate here on relational algebra
End

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