CHAPTER 4

Relational Databases
 INTRODUCTION
• Questions to be addressed in this chapter:
– How are databases different than file-based legacy
systems?
– Why are databases important and what is their
advantage?
– What is the difference between logical and physical
views of a database?
– What are the fundamental concepts of database
systems such as DBMS, schemas, the data
dictionary, and DBMS languages?
– What is a relational database, and how does it
organize data?
– How are tables structured to properly store data in a
relational database?
 INTRODUCTION

• Relational databases underlie most

modern integrated AISs.
– They are the most popular type of database
used for transaction processing.
– In this chapter, we’ll define the concept of a
database.
 FILE VS. DATABASES
• Let’s examine some basic principles about how data are
stored in computer systems.
– An entity is anything about which the organization wishes to
store data. At your college or university, one entity would be the
student.

STUDENTS

Phone
Student ID Last Name First Name Number Birth Date

333-33-3333 Simpson Alice 333-3333 10/11/84

111-11-1111 Sanders Ned 444-4444 11/24/86

123-45-6789 Moore Artie 555-5555 04/20/85

 FILE VS. DATABASES
– Information about the attributes of an entity (e.g., the
student’s ID number and birth date) are stored in
fields.

STUDENTS

Phone
Student ID Last Name First Name Number Birth Date

333-33-3333 Simpson Alice 333-3333 10/11/84

111-11-1111 Sanders Ned 444-4444 11/24/86

123-45-6789 Moore Artie 555-5555 04/20/85

 FILE VS. DATABASES
– All the fields containing data about one entity (e.g.,
one student) form a record.
– The example below shows the record for Artie Moore.

STUDENTS

Phone
Student ID Last Name First Name Number Birth Date

333-33-3333 Simpson Alice 333-3333 10/11/84

111-11-1111 Sanders Ned 444-4444 11/24/86

123-45-6789 Moore Artie 555-5555 04/20/85

 FILE VS. DATABASES
– A set of all related records forms a file (e.g., the
student file).
– If this university only had three students and five fields
for each student, then the entire file would be
depicted below.

STUDENTS

Phone
Student ID Last Name First Name Number Birth Date

333-33-3333 Simpson Alice 333-3333 10/11/84

111-11-1111 Sanders Ned 444-4444 11/24/86

123-45-6789 Moore Artie 555-5555 04/20/85

 FILE VS. DATABASES
– A set of interrelated, centrally coordinated files forms
a database.

Student Class
File File

Advisor
File
 FILE VS. DATABASES

• Database systems were developed to

address the problems associated with the
proliferation of master files.
– For years, each time a new information need
arose, companies created new files and
programs.
– The result: a significant increase in the
number of master files.
 FILE VS. DATABASES
• This proliferation of master
Master File 1
Fact A
Enrollment files created problems:
Program – Often the same information was
Fact B
Fact C stored in multiple master files.
– Made it more difficult to
effectively integrate data and
obtain an organization-wide view
Master File 2
Financial Aid of the data.
Fact A
Fact D Program – Also, the same information may
Fact F not have been consistent
between files.
• If a student changed his
phone number, it may have
Master File 1 Grades been updated in one master
Fact A
Fact B
Program file but not another.
Fact F
 FILE VS. DATABASES

Database
• A database is a set
Fact A Fact B
Fact C Fact D of inter-related,
Fact E Fact F
centrally
coordinated files.
Database
Management
System

Enrollment Financial Aid Grades

Program Program Program
 FILE VS. DATABASES
• The database approach
Database treats data as an
Fact A Fact B
Fact C Fact D
organizational resource
Fact E Fact F that should be used by
and managed for the
entire organization, not
just a particular
Database department.
Management • A database management
System
system (DBMS) serves
as the interface between
the database and the
Enrollment Financial Aid Grades
Program Program Program
various application
programs.
 FILE VS. DATABASES

Database
• The combination of
Fact A Fact B
Fact C Fact D the database, the
Fact E Fact F
DBMS, and the
application
Database
Management
programs that
System access the
database is
Enrollment
Program
Financial Aid
Program
Grades
Program
referred to as the
database system.
 FILE VS. DATABASES
• The person
Database
Fact A Fact B responsible for the
Fact C Fact D
Fact E Fact F database is the
database
administrator.
Database • As technology
Management
System improves, many large
companies are
developing very large
Enrollment Financial Aid Grades
Program Program Program databases called data
warehouses.
 IMPORTANCE AND ADVANTAGES OF
DATABASE SYSTEMS
• Database technology is everywhere.
– Most new AISs implement a database
approach.
– Virtually all mainframe computer sites use
database technology.
– Use of databases with PCs is growing also.
 IMPORTANCE AND ADVANTAGES OF
DATABASE SYSTEMS
• As accountants, you are likely to audit or work
for companies that use database technology to
store, process, and report accounting
transactions.
– Many accountants work directly with databases and
will enter, process, and query databases.
– Some will develop and evaluate internal controls
necessary to ensure database integrity.
– Others will be involved in the design and
management of databases.
 IMPORTANCE AND ADVANTAGES OF
DATABASE SYSTEMS
• Database technology provides the
following benefits to organizations:
– Data integration • Achieved by combining
master files into larger
pools of data accessible
by many programs.
 IMPORTANCE AND ADVANTAGES OF
DATABASE SYSTEMS
• Database technology provides the
following benefits to organizations:
– Data integration
– Data sharing
• It’s easier to share data that’s integrated—
the FBI is planning an 8 year, $400 million
database project to make data more
available to agency users.
 IMPORTANCE AND ADVANTAGES OF
DATABASE SYSTEMS
• Database technology provides the
following benefits to organizations:
– Data integration
– Data sharing
– Reporting flexibility
• Reports can be revised easily and
generated as needed.
• The database can easily be browsed to
research problems or obtain detailed
information.
 IMPORTANCE AND ADVANTAGES OF
DATABASE SYSTEMS
• Database technology provides the
following benefits to organizations:
– Data integration
– Data sharing
– Reporting flexibility
– Minimal data redundancy and
inconsistencies • Because data items are
usually stored only once.
 IMPORTANCE AND ADVANTAGES OF
DATABASE SYSTEMS
• Database technology provides the
following benefits to organizations:
– Data integration
• Data items are independent of the programs that
use them.
– Data sharing
• Consequently, a data item can be changed
– Reporting flexibility
without changing the program and vice versa.
– Minimal •data
Makes programming easier and simplifies data
redundancy and inconsistencies
management.
– Data independence
 IMPORTANCE AND ADVANTAGES OF
DATABASE SYSTEMS
• Database technology provides the
following benefits to organizations:
– Data integration
– Data sharing
– Reporting flexibility
• Data management is more efficient
– Minimal data redundancy and inconsistencies
because the database administrator is
responsible for coordinating, controlling,
– Data independence
and managing data.
– Central management of data
 IMPORTANCE AND ADVANTAGES OF
DATABASE SYSTEMS
• Database technology provides the
following benefits to organizations:
– Data integration
– Data sharing
– Reporting flexibility
• Relationships can be explicitly defined and
– Minimal dataused
redundancy and inconsistencies
in the preparation of management
– Data independence
reports.
• EXAMPLE: Relationship between selling
– Central management of data campaigns.
costs and promotional
– Cross-functional analysis
 IMPORTANCE AND ADVANTAGES OF
DATABASE SYSTEMS
• The importance of good data:
– Bad data leads to:
• Bad decisions
• Embarrassment
• Angry users
 Data Warehousing Institute estimates that
dirty data costs $600 billion per year in
unnecessary postage, marketing costs, and
lost customer credibility.
 DATABASE SYSTEMS

• Logical and physical views of data

– In file-oriented systems, programmers must
know the physical location and layout of
records used by a program.
• They must reference the location, length, and
format of every field they utilize.
• When data is used from several files, this process
becomes more complex.
 DATABASE SYSTEMS

• Database systems overcome this problem

by separating the storage and use of data
elements.
– Two separate views of the data are provided:
• Logical view
 How the user or programmer conceptually
organizes and understands the data.
 DATABASE SYSTEMS

• Database systems overcome this problem

by separating the storage and use of data
elements.
– Two separate views of the data are provided:
• Logical view
• Physical view
 How and where the data are physically
arranged and stored.
 DATABASE SYSTEMS
• Database systems overcome this problem
by separating the storage and use of data
elements.
– Two separate views of the data are provided:
• Logical view
• Physical view
– Separating these views facilitates
application development, because
programmers can focus on coding the
logic and not be concerned with storage
details.
 DATABASE SYSTEMS

• The DBMS handles the link between the

physical and logical views of the data.
– Allows the user to access, query, and update
data without reference to how or where it is
physically stored.
– The user only needs to define the logical data
requirements.
 DATABASE SYSTEMS

• Separating the logical and physical views of data

also means users can change their
conceptualizations of the data relationships
without making changes in the physical storage.
• The database administrator can also change the
physical storage of the data without affecting
users or application programs.
 DATABASE SYSTEMS

• Schemas
– A schema describes the logical structure of a
database.
– There are three levels of schema.
• Conceptual level
• The organization-wide view of the entire
database—i.e., the big picture.
• Lists all data elements and the relationships
between them.
 DATABASE SYSTEMS

• Schemas
– A schema describes the logical structure of a
database.
– There are three levels of schema.
• Conceptual level
• External level
• A set of individual user views of portions of
the database, i.e., how each user sees the
portion of the system with which he
interacts.
• These individual views are referred to as
subschema.
 DATABASE SYSTEMS

• Schemas
– A schema describes the logical structure of a
database.
– There are three levels of schema.
• Conceptual level• A low-level view of the database.
• External level • It describes how the data are actually
• Internal level stored and accessed including:
– Record layouts
– Definitions
– Addresses
– Indexes
 DATABASE SYSTEMS

• Accountants are frequently involved in

developing conceptual- and external-level
schema.
• An employee’s access to data should be
limited to the subschema of data that is
relevant to the performance of his job.
 DATABASE SYSTEMS

• The data dictionary

– A key component of a DBMS is the data
dictionary.
• Contains information about the structure of the
database.
• For each data element, there is a corresponding
record in the data dictionary describing that
element.
 DATABASE SYSTEMS

• Information provided for each element includes:

– A description or explanation of the element.
– The records in which it is contained.
– Its source.
– The length and type of the field in which it is stored.
– The programs in which it is used.
– The outputs in which it is contained.
– The authorized users of the element.
– Other names for the element.
 DATABASE SYSTEMS

 Accountants should participate in the

development of the data dictionary because they
have a good understanding of the data elements
in a business organization, as well as where
those elements originate and how they are used.
 DATABASE SYSTEMS

• DBMS Languages
– Every DBMS must provide a means of
performing the three basic functions of:
• Creating a database
• Changing a database
• Querying a database
 DATABASE SYSTEMS

• DBMS Languages
– Every DBMS must provide a means of
performing the three basic functions of:
• Creating a database
• Changing a database
• Querying a database
 DATABASE SYSTEMS

• Creating a database:
– The set of commands used to create the
database is known as data definition
language (DDL). DDL is used to:
• Build the data dictionary
• Initialize or create the database
• Describe the logical views for each individual user
or programmer
• Specify any limitations or constraints on security
imposed on database records or fields
 DATABASE SYSTEMS

• DBMS Languages
– Every DBMS must provide a means of
performing the three basic functions of:
• Creating a database
• Changing a database
• Querying a database
 DATABASE SYSTEMS

• Changing a database
– The set of commands used to change the
database is known as data manipulation
language (DML). DML is used for
maintaining the data including:
• Updating data
• Inserting data
• Deleting portions of the database
 DATABASE SYSTEMS

• DBMS Languages
– Every DBMS must provide a means of
performing the three basic functions of:
• Creating a database
• Changing a database
• Querying a database
 DATABASE SYSTEMS

• Querying a database:
– The set of commands used to query the database is
known as data query language (DQL). DQL is used
to interrogate the database, including:
• Retrieving records
• Sorting records
• Ordering records
• Presenting subsets of the database
– The DQL usually contains easy-to-use, powerful
commands that enable users to satisfy their own
information needs.
 DATABASE SYSTEMS

• Report Writer
– Many DBMS packages also include a report writer, a
language that simplifies the creation of reports.
– Users typically specify:
• What elements they want printed
• How the report should be formatted
– The report writer then:
• Searches the database
• Extracts specified data
• Prints them out according to specified format
 DATABASE SYSTEMS

• Users typically have access to both DQL and

report writer.
• Access to DQL and DML are typically restricted
to employees with administrative and
programming responsibilities.
 RELATIONAL DATABASES

• A DBMS is characterized by the type of

logical data model on which it is based.
– A data model is an abstract representation of
the contents of a database.
– Most new DBMSs are called relational
databases because they use the relational
model developed by E. F. Codd in 1970.
 RELATIONAL DATABASES

• The relational data model represents

everything in the database as being stored
in the forms of tables (aka, relations).
 STUDENTS
Last First Phone
Student ID Name Name No.
333-33-3333 Simpson Alice 333-3333
Relation
111-11-1111 Sanders Ned 444-4444
123-45-6789 Moore Artie 555-5555

COURSES
Course ID Course Section Day Time
1234 ACCT-3603 1 MWF 8:30
1235 ACCT-3603 2 TR 9:30
1236 MGMT-2103 1 MW 8:30

STUDENT x COURSE
SCID Student ID Course
333333333-1234 333-33-3333 1234
333333333-1236 333-33-3333 1236
111111111-1235 111-11-1111 1235
111111111-1236 111-11-1111 1235
 RELATIONAL DATABASES

• This model only describes how the data

appear in the conceptual- and external-
level schemas.
• The data are physically stored according
to the description in the internal-level
schema.
 RELATIONAL DATABASES

• Alternatives for storing data

– One possible alternate approach would be to
store all data in one uniform table.
– For example, instead of separate tables for
students and classes, we could store all data
in one table and have a separate line for each
student x class combination.
 Last First
Student ID Name Name Phone No. Course No. Section Day Time
333-33-3333 Simpson Alice 333-3333 ACCT-3603 1 M 9:00 AM
333-33-3333 Simpson Alice 333-3333 FIN-3213 3 Th 11:00 AM
333-33-3333 Simpson Alice 333-3333 MGMT-3021 11 Th 12:00 PM
111-11-1111 Sanders Ned 444-4444 ACCT-3433 2 T 10:00 AM
111-11-1111 Sanders Ned 444-4444 MGMT-3021 5 W 8:00 AM
111-11-1111 Sanders Ned 444-4444 ANSI-1422 7 F 9:00 AM
123-45-6789 Moore Artie 555-5555 ACCT-3433 2 T 10:00 AM
123-45-6789 Moore Artie 555-5555 FIN-3213 3 Th 11:00 AM

• Using the suggested approach, a student taking three classes

would need three rows in the table.
• In the above, simplified example, a number of problems arise.
 Last First
Student ID Name Name Phone No. Course No. Section Day Time
333-33-3333 Simpson Alice 333-3333 ACCT-3603 1 M 9:00 AM
333-33-3333 Simpson Alice 333-3333 FIN-3213 3 Th 11:00 AM
333-33-3333 Simpson Alice 333-3333 MGMT-3021 11 Th 12:00 PM
111-11-1111 Sanders Ned 444-4444 ACCT-3433 2 T 10:00 AM
111-11-1111 Sanders Ned 444-4444 MGMT-3021 5 W 8:00 AM
111-11-1111 Sanders Ned 444-4444 ANSI-1422 7 F 9:00 AM
123-45-6789 Moore Artie 555-5555 ACCT-3433 2 T 10:00 AM
123-45-6789 Moore Artie 555-5555 FIN-3213 3 Th 11:00 AM

• Suppose Alice Simpson changes her phone number. You need to

make the change in three places. If you fail to change it in all three
places or change it incorrectly in one place, then the records for
Alice will be inconsistent.
• This problem is referred to as an update anomaly.
 Last First
Student ID Name Name Phone No. Course No. Section Day Time
333-33-3333 Simpson Alice 333-3333 ACCT-3603 1 M 9:00 AM
333-33-3333 Simpson Alice 333-3333 FIN-3213 3 Th 11:00 AM
333-33-3333 Simpson Alice 333-3333 MGMT-3021 11 Th 12:00 PM
111-11-1111 Sanders Ned 444-4444 ACCT-3433 2 T 10:00 AM
111-11-1111 Sanders Ned 444-4444 MGMT-3021 5 W 8:00 AM
111-11-1111 Sanders Ned 444-4444 ANSI-1422 7 F 9:00 AM
123-45-6789 Moore Artie 555-5555 ACCT-3433 2 T 10:00 AM
123-45-6789 Moore Artie 555-5555 FIN-3213 3 Th 11:00 AM

• What happens if you have a new student to add, but he hasn’t

signed up for any courses yet?
• Or what if there is a new class to add, but there are no students
enrolled in it yet? In either case, the record will be partially blank.
• This problem is referred to as an insert anomaly.
 Last First
Student ID Name Name Phone No. Course No. Section Day Time
333-33-3333 Simpson Alice 333-3333 ACCT-3603 1 M 9:00 AM
333-33-3333 Simpson Alice 333-3333 FIN-3213 3 Th 11:00 AM
333-33-3333 Simpson Alice 333-3333 MGMT-3021 11 Th 12:00 PM
111-11-1111 Sanders Ned 444-4444 ACCT-3433 2 T 10:00 AM
111-11-1111 Sanders Ned 444-4444 MGMT-3021 5 W 8:00 AM
111-11-1111 Sanders Ned 444-4444 ANSI-1422 7 F 9:00 AM
123-45-6789 Moore Artie 555-5555 ACCT-3433 2 T 10:00 AM
123-45-6789 Moore Artie 555-5555 FIN-3213 3 Th 11:00 AM

• If Ned withdraws from all his classes and you eliminate all three of
his rows from the table, then you will no longer have a record of
Ned. If Ned is planning to take classes next semester, then you
probably didn’t really want to delete all records of him.
• This problem is referred to as a delete anomaly.
 RELATIONAL DATABASES
• Basic requirements of a relational database
– Every column in a row must be single valued.
• In other words, every cell can have one and only
one value.
• In the student table, you couldn’t have an attribute
named “Phone Number” if a student could have
multiple phone numbers.
• There might be an attribute named “local phone
number” and an attribute named “permanent
phone number.”
• You could not have an attribute named “Class” in
the student table, because a student could take
multiple classes.
 RELATIONAL DATABASES

• Basic requirements of a relational

database
– The primary key cannot be null.
• The primary key uniquely identifies a specific row
in the table, so it cannot be null, and it must be
unique for every record.
• This rule is referred to as the entity integrity rule.
 STUDENTS
Last First Phone
Student ID Name Name No.
333-33-3333 Simpson Alice 333-3333
111-11-1111 Sanders Ned 444-4444
123-45-6789 Moore Artie 555-5555

COURSES
Course ID Course Section Day Time
1234 ACCT-3603 1 MWF 8:30
1235 ACCT-3603 2 TR 9:30
1236 MGMT-2103 1 MW 8:30
STUDENT x COURSE
SCID • Note that within each table, there are no
333333333-1234 duplicate primary keys and no null
333333333-1236 primary keys.
111111111-1235 • Consistent with the entity integrity rule.
111111111-1236
 RELATIONAL DATABASES

• Basic requirements of a relational

database
– A foreign key must either be null or
correspond to the value of a primary key in
another table.
• This rule is referred to as the referential integrity
rule.
• The rule is necessary because foreign keys are
used to link rows in one table to rows in another
table.
 STUDENTS
First Advisor
Student ID Last Name Name Phone No. No.
333-33-3333 Simpson Alice 333-3333 1418
111-11-1111 Sanders Ned 444-4444 1418
123-45-6789 Moore Artie 555-5555 1503

ADVISORS
Advisor No. Last Name First Name Office No.
1418 Howard Glen 420
1419 Melton Amy 316
1503 Zhang Xi 202
1506 Radowski J.D. 203

Advisor No. is a foreign key in the STUDENTS table. Every

incident of Advisor No. in the STUDENTS table either matches
an instance of the primary key in the ADVISORS table or is null.
 RELATIONAL DATABASES

• Basic requirements of a relational

database
– All non-key attributes in a table should
describe a characteristic of the object
identified by the primary key.
• Could nationality be a non-key attribute in the
student table?
• Could advisor’s nationality be a non-key attribute
in the student table?
 RELATIONAL DATABASES

• Deletion of a class for a student would

cause the elimination of one record in the
student x class table.
– The student still exists in the student table.
– The class still exists in the class table.
– Avoids the delete anomaly.
 RELATIONAL DATABASES

• There are two basic ways to design well-

structured relational databases.
– Normalization
– Semantic data modeling
 RELATIONAL DATABASES

• There are two basic ways to design well-

structured relational databases.
– Normalization
– Semantic data modeling
 RELATIONAL DATABASES
• Normalization
– Starts with the assumption that everything is
initially stored in one large table.
– A set of rules is followed to decompose that
initial table into a set of normalized tables.
– Objective is to produce a set of tables in third-
normal form (3NF) because such tables are
free of update, insert, and delete anomalies.
– Approach is beyond the scope of this book
but can be found in any database textbook.
 RELATIONAL DATABASES

• There are two basic ways to design well-

structured relational databases.
– Normalization
– Semantic data modeling
 RELATIONAL DATABASES

• Semantic data modeling

– Database designer uses knowledge about
how business processes typically work and
the information needs associated with
transaction processing to draw a graphical
picture of what should be included in the
database.
– The resulting graphic is used to create a set
of relational tables that are in 3NF.
DATABASE SYSTEMS AND THE FUTURE
OF ACCOUNTING
• Database systems may profoundly affect
the fundamental nature of accounting:
– May lead to abandonment of double-entry
accounting, because the redundancy of the
double entry is not necessary in computer
data processing.
– May also alter the nature of external reporting.
• EXAMPLE: External users could have access to
the company’s database and manipulate the data
to meet their own reporting needs.
DATABASE SYSTEMS AND THE FUTURE
OF ACCOUNTING
• The use of accounting information in
decision making will be enhanced by:
– Powerful querying capabilities that
accompany database packages.
– The ability to accommodate multiple views of
the same underlying phenomenon.
– The ability to integrate financial and
operational data.
DATABASE SYSTEMS AND THE FUTURE
OF ACCOUNTING
• Accountants must become knowledgeable
about databases so they can participate in
developing the AIS of the future.
• They must help ensure that adequate
controls are included to safeguard the data
and assure its reliability.
 SUMMARY
• You’ve learned how databases differ from file-based
legacy systems.
• You’ve learned why databases are important and what
advantages they offer.
• You’ve learned how the logical and physical views of a
database differ.
• You’ve learned about fundamental concepts of database
systems such as DBMS, schemas, the data dictionary,
and DBMS languages.
• You’ve learned what a relational database is and how it
organizes data.
• You’ve learned how tables are structured to properly
store data in a relational database.
 End of chapter Four
• We made it
• thanks for All!