Introduction to Databases

CT042-3-1-IDB (version1)

Week 4: Relational Database

(Part 1)
 Topic & Structure of The Lesson

• Relational table
• Relational model components
• Data integrity rules
• Data dictionary

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 Learning Outcomes

• At the end of this topic, You should be able

to
– Explain the relational model’s basic
components
– Explain how relations are organized in tables
– Explain how data redundancy is handled in
the relational database model

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 Key Terms You Must Be Able To
Use
• If you have mastered this topic, you should be able to use the following
terms correctly in your assignments and exams:
– Primary key
– Foreign key
– Candidate key
– Attribute
– domain

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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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 Tables and Their Characteristics

• 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 Their Characteristics
(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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 Tables and Their Characteristics
(continued)

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 Tables and Their Characteristics (continued)

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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)

• 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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 Candidate Key

• A Candidate Key can be any column or a

combination of columns that can qualify as
unique key in database. There can be
multiple Candidate Keys in one table.
Each Candidate Key can qualify as
Primary Key.

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 How to select Primary Key

• select a key that does not contain NULL

• Select a key that is unique and does not
repeat
• Make sure that Primary Key does not keep
changing

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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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 Integrity Rules

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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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 Quick Review Question
• What is a candidate key?
• What is a primary key?
• What are the criteria for selecting primary key?
• What is a foreign key?
• What is attribute domain?
• What is entity integrity?
• What is referential integrity?
• Why is NULL not favorable when inserting data
values?
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 Summary of Main Teaching Points

• Tables are basic building blocks of a relational database

• Keys are central to the use of relational tables
• Keys define functional dependencies
– Candidate key
– Primary key
– Secondary key
– Foreign key

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 Question and Answer Session

Q&A

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 What we will cover next

• The types of relationship within the

relational model

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