4

Database Design
 4

Data Modeling

• Data modeling is a technique for organizing and

documenting a system’s DATA. Data modeling is
sometimes called database modeling because a
data model is usually implemented as a database.
 4

Steps in developing a database

• Requirements analysis →
• Conceptual Database design →
• Logical Database design →
• Schema refinement →
• Physical Database design
• Applications and security
 4
Conceptual design: (ER Model is used
at this stage.)

• What are the entities and relationships in the

enterprise?

• What information about these entities and

relationships should we store in the database?

• What are the integrity constraints or business rules

that hold?

• A database `schema’ in the ER Model can be

represented pictorially (ER diagrams).

• Can map an ER diagram into a relational schema.


Entity/Relationship Modelling
• E/R Modelling is used
for conceptual design
– Entities - objects or
items of interest
– Attributes - facts about,
or properties of, an
entity
– Relationships - links
between entities
4
• Example
– In a University database
we might have entities
for Students, Modules
and Lecturers. Students
might have attributes
such as their ID, Name,
and Course, and could
have relationships with
Modules (enrolment) and
Lecturers (tutor/tutee)
 4

Entity/Relationship Diagrams

• E/R Models are often Lecturer ID

represented as E/R Name Course

diagrams that
– Give a conceptual view
of the database Tutors Student
– Are independent of the
choice of DBMS
– Can identify some
problems in a design Module Studies

Entity Relationship Modelling

 4

Entities

• Entities represent • Entities have

objects or things of – A general type or class,
interest such as Lecturer or
– Physical things like Module
students, lecturers, – Instances of that
employees, products particular type, such as
– More abstract things Kashif, Imran are
like modules, orders, instances of Lecturer
courses, projects – Attributes (such as
name, email address)

Entity Relationship Modelling

 4

Diagramming Entities

• In an E/R Diagram, an Lecturer ID

entity is usually drawn Name Course

as a box with rounded
corners
Tutors Student
• The box is labelled
with the name of the
class of objects
represented by that Module Studies
entity

Entity Relationship Modelling


Attributes
• Attributes are facts, • Attributes have
aspects, properties, or
details about an entity
– Students have IDs,
names, courses,
addresses, …
– Modules have codes,
titles, credit weights,
levels, …
Entity Relationship Modelling
4
– A name
– An associated entity
– Domains of possible
values
– Values from the domain
for each instance of the
entity they are belong
to
 4

Classes of attributes
• Simple attribute
• Composite attribute
• Derived attributes
• Single-valued attribute
• Multi-valued attribute

10
 4

Simple/Composite attribute
• A simple attribute cannot be subdivided.
– Examples: Age, Gender, and Marital status
• A composite attribute can be further
subdivided to yield additional attributes.
– Examples:
• ADDRESS -- Street, City, State, Zip
• PHONE NUMBER -- Area code, Exchange number

11
 4

Derived attribute
• is not physically stored within the database
• instead, it is derived by using an algorithm.
– Example 1: Late Charge of 2%
• MS Access: InvoiceAmt * 0.02
– Example 2: AGE can be derived from the date of
birth and the current date.
• MS Access: int(Date() – Emp_Dob)/365)

12
 4

Single-valued attribute
• can have only a single (atomic) value.
– Examples:
• A person can have only one social security number.
• A manufactured part can have only one serial
number.
– A single-valued attribute is not necessarily a
simple attribute.
• Part No: CA-08-02-189935
• Location: CA, Factory#:08, shift#: 02, part#: 189935

13
 4

Multi-valued attributes
• can have many values.
– Examples:
• A person may have several college degrees.
• A household may have several phones with different
numbers
• A car color

14
 4

Diagramming Attributes

• In an E/R Diagram Lecturer ID

attributes may be Name Course

drawn as ovals
• Each attribute is
Tutors Student
linked to its entity by a
line
• The name of the
attribute is written in Module Studies
the oval

Entity Relationship Modelling


Relationships
• Relationships are an • Relationships have
association between
two or more entities
– Each Student takes
several Modules
– Each Module is taught
by a Lecturer
– Each Employee works
for a single Department
Entity Relationship Modelling
4
– A name
– A set of entities that
participate in them
– A degree - the number
of entities that
participate (most have
degree 2)
– A cardinality ratio
 4

Cardinality Ratios

• Each entity in a • One to one (1:1)

relationship can – Each lecturer has a
unique office
participate in zero,
• One to many (1:M)
one, or more than one – A lecturer may tutor many
instances of that students, but each
relationship student has just one tutor
• Many to many (M:M)
• This leads to 3 types
– Each student takes
of relationship… several modules, and
each module is taken by
several students

Entity Relationship Modelling

 4

Diagramming Relationships

• Relationships are Lecturer ID

links between two Name Course

entities
• The name is given in a
Tutors Student
diamond box
• The ends of the link
show cardinality
Module Studies

One Many

Entity Relationship Modelling

 4

Removing M:M Relationships

• Many to many Student

relationships are
difficult to represent Student
Has
• We can split a many to
many relationship into
Studies Enrolment
two one to many
relationships
• An entity represents Module
In

the M:M relationship

Module

Entity Relationship Modelling

 4

Making E/R Models

• To make an E/R model • General guidelines

you need to identify – Since entities are
– Enitities things or objects they
– Attributes are often nouns in the
description
– Relationships
– Attributes are facts or
– Cardinality ratios properties, and so are
• from a description often nouns also
– Verbs often describe
relationships between
entities

Entity Relationship Modelling

 4

Example

A university consists of a number of

departments. Each department offers several
courses. A number of modules make up each
course. Students enrol in a particular course and
take modules towards the completion of that
course. Each module is taught by a lecturer from
the appropriate department, and each lecturer
tutors a group of students

Entity Relationship Modelling

 4

Example - Entities

A university consists of a number of

departments. Each department offers several
courses. A number of modules make up each
course. Students enrol in a particular course and
take modules towards the completion of that
course. Each module is taught by a lecturer from
the appropriate department, and each lecturer
tutors a group of students

Entity Relationship Modelling

 4

Example - Relationships

• A university consists of a number of

departments. Each department offers several
courses. A number of modules make up each
course. Students enrol in a particular course and
take modules towards the completion of that
course. Each module is taught by a lecturer from
the appropriate department, and each lecturer
tutors a group of students

Entity Relationship Modelling

 4

Example - E/R Diagram

Entities: Department, Course, Module, Lecturer, Student

Department

Course Module Lecturer

Student

Entity Relationship Modelling

 4

Example - E/R Diagram

Each department offers several courses

Offers Department

Course Module Lecturer

Student

Entity Relationship Modelling

 4

Example - E/R Diagram

A number of modules make up each courses

Offers Department

Course Includes Module Lecturer

Student

Entity Relationship Modelling

 4

Example - E/R Diagram

Students enrol in a particular course

Offers Department

Course Includes Module Lecturer

Enrols In Student

Entity Relationship Modelling

 4

Example - E/R Diagram

Students … take modules

Offers Department

Course Includes Module Lecturer

Takes

Enrols In Student

Entity Relationship Modelling

 4

Example - E/R Diagram

Each module is taught by a lecturer

Offers Department

Course Includes Module Teaches Lecturer

Takes

Enrols In Student

Entity Relationship Modelling

 4

Example - E/R Diagram

a lecturer from the appropriate department

Offers Department Employs

Course Includes Module Teaches Lecturer

Takes

Enrols In Student

Entity Relationship Modelling

 4

Example - E/R Diagram

each lecturer tutors a group of students

Offers Department Employs

Course Includes Module Teaches Lecturer

Takes

Enrols In Student Tutors

Entity Relationship Modelling

 4

Example - E/R Diagram

Offers Department Employs

Course Includes Module Teaches Lecturer

Takes

Enrols In Student Tutors

Entity Relationship Modelling

 4

Entities and Attributes

• Sometimes it is hard • General guidelines

to tell if something – Entities can have
should be an entity or attributes but attributes
an attribute have no smaller parts
– They both represent – Entities can have
objects or facts about relationships between
the world them, but an attribute
belongs to a single
– They are both often entity
represented by nouns
in descriptions

Entity Relationship Modelling

 4

Example

We want to represent information about products

in a database. Each product has a description, a
price and a supplier. Suppliers have addresses,
phone numbers, and names. Each address is
made up of a street address, a city, and a
postcode.

Entity Relationship Modelling

 4

Example - Entities/Attributes

• Entities or attributes: • Products, suppliers,

• product and addresses all
• description
have smaller parts so
• price
• supplier we can make them
• address entities
• phone number • The others have no
• name
• street address
smaller parts and
• city belong to a single
• postcode entity

Entity Relationship Modelling

 4

Example - E/R Diagram

Price

Description Product

Street address

Name Supplier Address City

Phone number Postcode

Entity Relationship Modelling

 4

Example - Relationships

• Each product has a • Each supplier has an

supplier address
– Each product has a – A supplier has a single
single supplier but address
there is nothing to stop – It does not seem
a supplier supplying sensible for two
many products different suppliers to
– A many to one have the same address
relationship – A one to one
relationship

Entity Relationship Modelling

 4

Example - E/R Diagram

Price

Description Product

Has A Street address

Name Supplier Has A Address City

Phone number Postcode

Entity Relationship Modelling

 4

Example - E/R Diagram

Price

Description Product

Has A

Name Supplier City

Phone number Postcode Street address

Entity Relationship Modelling

 4

Example
“A database will be made to store information about patients in a
hospital. On arrival, each patient’s personal details (name,
address, and telephone number) are recorded where possible, and
they are given an admission number. They are then assigned to a
particular ward (Accident and Emergency, Cardiology, Oncology,
etc.). In each ward there are a number of doctors and nurses. A
patient will be treated by one doctor and several nurses over the
course of their stay, and each doctor and nurse may be involved
with several patients at any given time.”

Entity Relationship Modelling