DATABASE SYSTEMS

DESIGN IMPLEMENTATION AND MANAGEMENT

INTERNATIONAL EDITION

ROB • CORONEL • CROCKETT

Chapter 3
The Relational Database Model
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In this chapter, you will learn:

• That the relational database model takes a logical

view of data
• The relational model’s basic components are
relations implemented through tables in a
relational DBMS
• How relations are organized in tables composed of
rows (tuples) and columns (attributes)

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In this chapter, you will learn (continued):

• About relational database operators, the data

dictionary, and the system catalog
• How data redundancy is handled in the relational
database model
• Why indexing is important

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A Logical View of Data

• Relational model
– Enables programmer to view data logically rather than
physically

• Table
– Has advantages of structural and data independence
– Resembles a file from conceptual point of view
– Easier to understand than its hierarchical and network
database predecessors

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What is a Relation?

• The concept of a relation is modelled on a

mathematical construct
• In mathematics,a relation is formally defined as:
Given a number of sets D1, D2, ....., Dn (which are not
necessarily distinct), R is a relation on these n sets,it
is a set of tuples each of which has its first element
from D1, second element form D2, and so on.

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Example of a Relation

• Assume we have two sets (n =2), one of student’s last

names (STU_LNAME) and one of the department codes
(DEPT_CODE) where they have enrolled.
STU_LNAME {Bowser, Smithson, Brewer, Robertson}
DEPT_CODE {BIOL, CIS, EDU}

• Then a relation can be defi ned over the sets

STU_LNAME and DEPT_CODE as:
R = {(Bowser, BIOL), (Smithson, CIS),(Brewer, EDU),(Robertson,
EDU)}

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Tables and Relations

• Table: two-dimensional structure composed of

rows and columns
• Contains group of related entities = an entity set
– Terms entity set and table are often used
interchangeably

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Tables and Relations (continued)

• Table also called a relation because the relational

model’s creator, Codd, used the term relation as a
synonym for table
• Think of a table as a persistent relation:
– A relation whose contents can be permanently saved
for future use

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Properties of a Relation

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Example Relation

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Attributes and Domains

• Each attribute is a named column within the

relational table and draws its values from a
domain.
• The domain of values for an attribute should
contain only atomic values and any one value
should not be divisible into components.
• No attributes with more than one value are allowed.

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Degree and Cardinality

• Degree and cardinality are two important properties of

the relational model.
• A relation with N columns and N rows is said to be of
degree N and cardinality N.
• The degree of a relation is the number of its attributes and
the cardinality of a relation is the number of its tuples.
• The product of a relation’s degree and cardinality is the
number of attribute values it contains.

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Degree and Cardinality

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Relational Schema

• A relational schema is a textual representation of

the database tables, where each table is described
by its name followed by the list of its attributes in
parentheses.
• A relational schema R can be formally defined as
R={a1, a2,...,an} where a1…an are a set of
attributes belonging to the relation.

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Keys

• Consists of one or more attributes that determine

other attributes
• Primary key (PK) is an attribute (or a combination
of attributes) that uniquely identifies any given
entity (row)
• Key’s role is based on determination
– If you know the value of attribute A, you can look up
(determine) the value of attribute B

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Keys (continued)

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Relational Database Keys

• Composite key
– Composed of more than one attribute
• Key attribute
– Any attribute that is part of a key
• Superkey
– Any key that uniquely identifies each row
• Candidate key
– A superkey without redundancies

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Keys (continued)
• Nulls:
– No data entry
– Not permitted in primary key
– Should be avoided in other attributes
– Can represent
• An unknown attribute value
• A known, but missing, attribute value
• A “not applicable” condition
– Can create problems when functions such as COUNT,
AVERAGE, and SUM are used
– Can create logical problems when relational tables are linked

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Keys (continued)
• Controlled redundancy:
– Makes the relational database work
– Tables within the database share common attributes
that enable the tables to be linked together
– Multiple occurrences of values in a table are not
redundant when they are required to make the
relationship work
– Redundancy exists only when there is unnecessary
duplication of attribute values

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Keys (continued)

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Keys (continued)

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Keys (continued)

• Foreign key (FK)

– An attribute whose values match primary key values in
the related table

• Referential integrity
– FK contains a value that refers to an existing valid tuple
(row) in another relation

• Secondary key
– Key used strictly for data retrieval purposes

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Keys (continued)

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Integrity Rules

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Integrity Rules (continued)

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Integrity Rules (continued)

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The Data Dictionary and System Catalog

• Data dictionary
– Provides detailed accounting of all tables found within the
user/designer-created database
– Contains (at least) all the attribute names and characteristics for
each table in the system
– Contains metadata—data about data
– Sometimes described as “the database designer’s database”
because it records the design decisions about tables and their
structures

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A Sample Data Dictionary

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The Data Dictionary and System Catalog

(continued)
• System catalog
– Contains metadata
– Detailed system data dictionary that describes all
objects within the database
– Terms “system catalog” and “data dictionary” are often
used interchangeably
– Can be queried just like any user/designer-created table

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Relationships within the Relational Database

• 1:* relationship
– Relational modeling ideal
– Should be the norm in any relational database design

• 1:1 relationship
– Should be rare in any relational database design

• *:* relationships
– Cannot be implemented as such in the relational model
– *:* relationships can be changed into two 1:* relationships

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The 1:* Relationship

• Relational database norm

• Found in any database environment

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The 1:* Relationship (continued)

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The 1:* Relationship (continued)

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The 1:* Relationship (continued)

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The 1:* Relationship (continued)

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The 1:1 Relationship

• One entity can be related to only one other entity,

and vice versa
• Sometimes means that entity components were not
defined properly
• Could indicate that two entities actually belong in
the same table
• As rare as 1:1 relationships should be, certain
conditions absolutely require their use
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The 1:1 Relationship (continued)

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The 1:1 Relationship (continued)

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The 1:1 Relationship (continued)

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The *:* Relationship

• Can be implemented by breaking it up to produce

a set of 1:* relationships
• Can avoid problems inherent to *:* relationship by
creating a composite entity or bridge entity

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The *:* Relationship (continued)

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The *:* Relationship (continued)

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The *:* Relationship (continued)

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The *:* Relationship (continued)

• Implementation of a composite entity

• Yields required *:* to 1:* conversion
• Composite entity table must contain at least the
primary keys of original tables
• Linking table contains multiple occurrences of the
foreign key values
• Additional attributes may be assigned as needed

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The *:* Relationship (continued)

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The *:* Relationship (continued)

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The *:* Relationship (continued)

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Data Redundancy Revisited

• Data redundancy leads to data anomalies
– Such anomalies can destroy the effectiveness of the
database

• Foreign keys
– Control data redundancies by using common attributes
shared by tables
– Crucial to exercising data redundancy control

• Sometimes, data redundancy is necessary

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Data Redundancy Revisited (continued)

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Data Redundancy Revisited (continued)

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Data Redundancy Revisited (continued)

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Indexes
• Arrangement used to logically access rows in a table
• Index key
– Index’s reference point
– Points to data location identified by the key
• Unique index
– Index in which the index key can have only one pointer
value (row) associated with it
• Each index is associated with only one table

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Indexes (continued)

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Codd’s Relational Database Rules

• In 1985, Codd published a list of 12 rules to define

a relational database system
• The reason was the concern that many vendors
were marketing products as “relational” even
though those products did not meet minimum
relational standards

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Codd’s Relational Database Rules (Continued)

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Summary
• Relations are basic building blocks of a relational
database.
• Keys are central to the use of relational tables
• Keys define functional dependencies
– Superkey
– Candidate key
– Primary key
– Secondary key
– Foreign key

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Summary (continued)
• Each table row must have a primary key which uniquely
identifies all attributes
• Tables can be linked by common attributes. Thus, the primary
key of one table can appear as the foreign key in another table to
which it is linked
• Good design begins by identifying appropriate entities and
attributes and the relationships among the entities. Those
relationships (1:1, 1:*, and *:*) can be represented using ERDs.

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