ISYS6300 - Business Process

Fundamental
Week 2 – Database Concept
 Chapter 4:
Database Concepts II

Prepared by
Kent Wilson
University of South Australia
Top-Down V Bottom-Up Database
Design

 Entity relationship diagram presents top-down view

 Normalisation looks at the bottom-up view

 Normalisation: a set of rules and a process of

assigning attributes to entities to eliminate
repeating groups and data redundancies, and to
form tables representing entities that promote
structural and data independence
Top-Down V Bottom-Up database
Design (Cont)

 Normalisation maximises the efficiency of the

structure by:
o Reducing data redundancies,
o Eliminating data anomalies
o Producing a set of controlled redundancies

 Controlled redundancies are redundancies that are

allowed for the convenience of structuring data,
data manipulation or reporting
Database Tables & Normalisation

 The objectives of normalisation:

1. Reduce or eliminate repeating groups

2. Reduce or eliminate data anomalies

3. Reduce or eliminate data redundancies

4. Form or organise entities and tables that have

structural and data independence
 Definitions

 Relational database: a database that stores data in a

number of tables

 Table: a collection of columns (attributes) and rows

(objects) that describe an entity

 Fields: a characteristic of a record that contains data

that have a specific meaning

 Entity: something you wish to record data about in a

database
 Definitions (Cont)

 Record: a connected set of fields that describe a

person, place or thing

 Primary key: an attribute (or column) that uniquely

identifies a particular object (or row)

 Composite key: a combination of more than one

primary key. It indicates an M:N relationship
between the columns
Different ways a business works =
Different data structures
E-R Diagram Example
Different Ways a Business Works =
Different Data Structures
Different Ways a Business Works =
Different Data Structures (cont)
 Enterprise Models

 Combining the E-R diagrams and normalisation

results for each part of the organisation allows the
preparation of an enterprise model

 The development of an enterprise model is an

iterative process involving six steps. The process
begins with the development of E-R diagrams as
outlined in chapter 3
Developing an Enterprise Model
The REA Accounting Model

 Another way to model data is to use the REA

Accounting Model

 This model is based on the premise that in every

exchange in a process there is a resource, event and
agent involved
Differences Between REA & E-R
Modelling

 Despite the reluctance of businesses to use REA to

implement accounting systems, one of the REA
model’s greatest advantages is that it can store
non-financial data as well as financial data

 It is possible for organisations to use REA to model

their business processes, but then implement the
relationships via a traditional accounting system
 Database Implementation

 Client-server system: a computing model that is

based on distributing functions between two types
of independent and autonomous processes –
servers & clients

o A client is any process that requests specific services

from server processes

o A server is a process that provides requested services for

clients
Client Server Systems
 Client-Server Systems (Cont)

 Can be classified as 2-tier or 3-tier

 Based on three major components

o Hardware
o Software
o Communications middleware

 Communications middleware aid the transmission

of data and control of information between the
client and server
Databases in E-Commerce

 E-commerce and the internet have affected

database systems

 Staff, suppliers and customers can have access to

the database

 Allows the use of value-chain and customer

relationship management software
 Review of Chapter 4

 Normalisation assists in creating an efficient

database design

 Different ways in which a business operates are

reflected in different data structures

 The enterprise model of a business coupled with

the steps in creating this model were overviewed
Review of Chapter 4 (Cont)

 The REA accounting model was considered

and contrasted with E-R modelling

 An explanation of how client-server systems

& e-commerce have affected the design and
implementation of databases was provided
 Key Terms
o Attributes
o Back-end application
software
o Client-server systems
o Communications middleware
o Composite keys
o Controlled redundancies
o Entities, fields & records
o Files & tables
o Foreign key
o Front-end application
software
o Hardware & software
o M:N relationships
o Normalisation
o 1:M relationships
o Partial dependency
o Primary key
o Relational database
o Server
o Transitive dependency
Thank You