Database

Systems
CHAPTER # 5
THE RELATIONAL DATA MODEL AND
RELATIONAL DATABASE CONSTRAINTS

Fizza.aqeel@nu.edu
Chapter Outlines

► Relational Model Concepts

► Relational Model Constraints
► Relational Database Schemas
► Update Operations
► Transactions
► Dealing with Constraint Violations
DBMS Formal terms

Informal Terms Formal terms

Table Name Entities
Table Relation
Column Name Attributes
Row Tuple
Values in a column Domain
Table definition Schema of a relation
Populated Table Extension
Relational Model
Concepts
► Relational model: represents the database as a
collection of relations.
► Relation: Table of values
► Tuple represent facts: Row
► Column Header: Attribute
► Domain: Data type describing the types of values
that can appear in each column.
► The model was first proposed by Dr. E.F. Codd of
IBM Research in 1970 in the following paper:“ A
Relational Model for Large Shared Data Banks,"
Communications of the ACM, June 1970
Relational Model
Concepts
► Domain:
► Set of atomic values
► Represents data type, and format.
► For example, the PAK_phone_numbers may have a
format: (ddd)-dddddddd where each d is a decimal
digit.
► Dates have various formats such as month, date, year
or yyyy-mm-dd, or dd mm,yyyy etc.
► Names: set of character strings that represent names
of persons.
► Grade_point_averages: floating-point number
between 0 and 4.
► Employee_ages: integer value between 15 and 80.
Formal Definition of
Relation
► A relation schema.
► denoted by R(A1, A2, … , An),
► made up of a relation name R
► Contains a list of attributes, A1, A2, … , An.
► Each attribute Ai is the name of a role played by some
domain D in the relation schema R. D is called the
domain of Ai and is denoted by dom(Ai).
► Degree (or arity) of a relation: number of
attributes/columns
► Tuple t is a row:
► Ordered/ unordered list of n values t =<v1, v2, … , vn>
► each value vi, 1 ≤ i ≤ n, is an element of dom (Ai) or is a
special NULL value.
Example of a Relation

Degree of Relation?
Relation Definition
Using set theory
► A relation (or relation state) r(R) is a
mathematical relation of degree n on the
domains dom(A1), dom(A2), … , dom(An),
which is a subset of the Cartesian product
(denoted by ×) of the domains that define
► R: r(R) ⊆ (dom(A1) × dom(A2) × . . . × (dom(An))
► Cartesian product: All possible combinations
of values from the underlying domains.
► Total number of tuples in the Cartesian
product: |dom(A1)| × |dom(A2)| × . . . × |
dom(An)|
Relational Model
Concepts
► Relation State: The state of the whole database
will correspond to the states of all its relations
at a particular point in time.
 Characteristics of Relations

► Relation: set of tuples.

► Ordering of Tuples in a
Relation: tuples in a
relation do not have any
particular order.

► Hence, the relation

displayed in Figure 5.2 is
considered identical to
the one shown in Figure
5.1
Characteristics of Relations

► Ordering of Attributes is not important,

because the attribute name appears with its
value.

► When the attribute name and value are

included together in a tuple, it is known as self-
describing data.
Characteristics of Relations
► Values and NULLs in the Tuples:
► Each value in a tuple is an atomic value.
► composite and multivalued attributes are not
allowed
► NULL values: values of attributes that may be
unknown or may not apply to a tuple.
Relational Model
Constraints
► Constraints: set of rules or restrictions. They
are used to maintain the quality of data.
► Constraints ensure that the data insertion,
updating, and other processes have to be
performed in such a way that data integrity is
not affected.
► Constraints are used to guard against
accidental damage to the database.
Relational Model
Constraints
► Schema Based Constraints
► Divided into three main categories.
► Key constraints
► Entity integrity constraints
► Referential integrity constraints
► Key Constraints: used to identify an entity within its
entity set uniquely.
► Primary Key
► Candidate Key
► Super Key
► Foreign Key
Key Constraints

► Primary key: uniquely identifies each record in

a table. It must have unique values and cannot
have null values.
► FOREIGN KEY: Foreign keys are the columns of
a table that points to the primary key of another
table. They act as a cross-reference between
tables.
► Candidate Key: A super key with no
redundant attribute is known as candidate key.
► Super Key: A super key is a set of one of more
columns (attributes) to uniquely identify rows in
a table.
Primary Key Examples
Candidate Key
Example
Emp_Id Emp_Nu Emp_Na
mber me
E01 2264 Steve
E22 2278 David
E23 2288 Joseph
E45
The candidate keys2290 Robert
we have selected are:
{Emp_Id}
{Emp_Number}
Super Key Example
Emp_Id Emp_Nu Emp_Na
mber me
E01 2264 Steve
E22 2278 David
E23 2288 Joseph
E45 2290 Robert
How many super keys the above table can have?
1. {Emp_Id, Emp_Number}
2. {Emp_Id, Emp_Name}
3. {Emp_Id, Emp_Number, Emp_Name}
4. {Emp_Number, Emp_Name}
 Foreign Key Example
Course_enrollment table: Student
table:

Course_Id Stu_Id Stu_Nam

Stu_Id Stu_Age
e
C01 101
Chaitany
C02 102 101 22
a
C03 101
102 Arya 26
C05 102
C06 103 103 Bran 25
C07 102 104 Jon 21
Entity Integrity
Constraint
► Entity integrity constraint: primary key
value can't be null.
► A table can contain a null value other than the
primary key field.
Referential integrity
constraint
• Referential integrity constraint is specified
between two tables.
► Foreign key in Relation 1 refers to the Primary Key
of Relation 2.
► Used to specify a relationship among tuples in
two relations: the referencing relation and the
referenced relation.
► A referential integrity constraint can be
displayed in a relational database schema as a
directed arc from R1.FK to R2.PK
 Slide

Referential integrity 5- 23

constraint
► A constraint involving two relations
► The previous constraints involve a single
relation.
► Used to specify a relationship among tuples
in two relations:
► The referencing relation and the referenced
relation.
Referential Integrity
► Tuples in the referencing relation R1 have
attributes FK (called foreign key attributes)
that reference the primary key attributes PK of
the referenced relation R2.
► A tuple t1 in R1 is said to reference a tuple t2
in R2 if t1[FK] = t2[PK].
► A referential integrity constraint can be
displayed in a relational database schema as a
directed arc from R1.FK to R2.
Referential Integrity (or
foreign key) Constraint
► Statement of the constraint
► The value in the foreign key column (or
columns) FK of the referencing relation R1
can be either:
► (1) a value of an existing primary key value of a
corresponding primary key PK in the referenced
relation R2, or
► (2) a null.

► In case (2), the FK in R1 should not be a part

of its own primary key.
Relational Model
Constraints
► Domain Constraints:
► Value of each attribute must be an atomic value
from the domain dom(A).
► The data type of domain includes string,
character, integer, time, date, currency, etc. The
value of the attribute must be available in the
corresponding domain.
Relational Database
State
► A relational database state DB of S is a set of
relation states DB = {r1, r2, ..., rm} such that each
ri is a state of Ri and such that the ri relation
states satisfy the integrity constraints specified in
IC.
► A relational database state is sometimes called a
relational database snapshot or instance.
► We will not use the term instance since it also
applies to single tuples.
► A database state that does not meet the
constraints is an invalid state
Schema Diagram for the
COMPANY Relational
Database Schema
Displaying a relational 29
database schema and its
constraints
► Each relation schema can be displayed as
a row of attribute names
► The name of the relation is written above
the attribute names
► The primary key attribute (or attributes)
will be underlined
► A foreign key (referential integrity)
constraints is displayed as a directed arc
(arrow) from the foreign key attributes to
the referenced table
► Can also point the primary key of the
referenced relation for clarity
Other Types of
Constraints
► Semantic integrity constraints: specified
and enforced within the application programs
that update the database, or by using a
general-purpose constraint specification
language.
► i.e. the salary of an employee should not exceed
the salary of the employee’s supervisor
► i.e. the maximum number of hours an employee
can work on all projects per week is 56.
Other Types of
Constraints
► Transition constraints: Transition between
one database state into another database state.
► Enforced by application Program.
► i.e., salary of an employee can only increase.
Update Operations, Transactions,
and Dealing with Constraint Violations
Constraint Violation

► Relational Model Operations: Retrievals and

updates.
► Three basic operations that can change the
states of relations in the database: Insert,
Delete, and Update (or Modify).
► Whenever these operations are applied, the
integrity constraints specified on the relational
database schema should not be violated.
Violation of Constraints:
Insert Operation

► Insert can violate any of the four types of constraints.

► Domain constraints: can be violated if an attribute
value is given that does not appear in the
corresponding domain or is not of the appropriate
data type.
► Key constraints: can be violated if a key value in
the new tuple t already exists in another tuple in the
relation r(R).
► Entity integrity: can be violated if any part of the
primary key of the new tuple t is NULL.
► Referential integrity can be violated if the value of
any foreign key in table refers to a tuple that does
not exist in the referenced relation.
Violation of Constraints:
Insert Operation
Violation of Constraints:
Insert Operation
Violation of Constraints:
Insert Operation
Insert Operations on Relations

► In case of integrity violation, several actions

can be taken:
► Cancel the operation that causes the violation
(RESTRICT or REJECT option)
► Perform the operation but inform the user of the
violation
► Trigger additional updates so the violation is
corrected (CASCADE option, SET NULL option)
► Execute a user-specified error-correction routine
Violation of Constraints:
Delete Operation
► Delete operation can violate only referential integrity.
► This occurs if the tuple being deleted is referenced by
foreign keys from other tuples in the database.
Violation of
Constraints: Delete
Operation
Violation of
Constraints: Delete
Operation
Violation of
Constraints: Delete
Operation
Violation of Constraints:
Delete Operation

► Options to overcome violation if a

deletion operation causes a violation.
► Restrict: is to reject the deletion.
► Cascade: to cascade (or propagate) the deletion by
deleting tuples that reference the tuple that is being
deleted.
► Set null or set default: is to modify the referencing
attribute values that cause the violation
► each such value is either set to NULL or changed to
reference another default valid tuple.
► Notice that if a referencing attribute that causes a
violation is part of the primary key, it cannot be set to
NULL; otherwise, it would violate entity integrity.
Combinations of these three options are also possible.
Violation of Constraints:
Update Operation
• Updating an attribute that is neither
part of a primary key nor part of a
foreign key usually causes no problems.
Violation of Constraints:
Update Operation
Violation of
Constraints: Update
Operation
Violation of
Constraints: Update
Operation
► Any of the other constraints may also be
violated, depending on the attribute being
updated:
► Updating the primary key (PK):
► Similar to a DELETE followed by an INSERT
► Need to specify similar options to DELETE
► Updating a foreign key (FK):
► May violate referential integrity
► Updating an ordinary attribute (neither PK
nor FK):
► Can only violate domain constraints
Transaction

► A transaction is an executing program that

includes some database operations, such as
reading from the database, or applying
insertions, deletions, or updates to the
database.
► After the transaction is completed the database
must be in valid and consistent state that
satisfies all the constraints.
► For example, a bank withdrawal will typically
read the user account record, check if there is a
sufficient balance, and then update the record
by the withdrawal amount.
 Practice Question
STUDEN
T
Student_No Student_Na Student_Ph Subject_No
me one
1 Andrew 661592728 10
4
2 Sara 658365486 20
5
3 Harry 464756746 10
SUBJECT 3 ENROLL

Subject_No Subject_Name Subject_Instructo Student_No Subject_No

r
1 10
10 DBMS Korth
2 20
20 Algorithms Cormen
3 10
30 Algorithms Leiserson
Solution

► The Super Keys in <Student> table are −

1. Student_No
2. Student_Phone
3. Student_No,Student_Name
4. Student_No,Student_Phone
5. Student_No,Subject_No
6. Student_Phone, Student_Name
7. Student_Phone, Subject_No
8. Student_No,Student_Name, Student_Phone
9. Student_No,Student_Name, Subject_No
10. Student_No,Student_Phone, Subject_No
11. Student_No, Student_Name, Student_Phone,
Subject_No
Solution

The Super Key in <Subject> table are

−
1. Subject_No
2. Subject_No, Subject_Name
3. Subject_No, Subject_Instructor
4. Subject_No, Subject_Name,
Subject_Instructor

The Super Key in <Enroll> table is −

5. Student_Number,Subject_Number