Chapter 3

Database Modeling

Fundamental of Database System 1

• Database modeling :designing successful database
application where database application refers to
specific database like Company database or
University database.
• Conceptual modeling is an important phase in
designing a successful database application.
• The Entity-Relationship (ER) model, is a popular
high-level conceptual data model for designing
database applications.
• This model and its variations are frequently used for
the conceptual design of database applications, and
many database design tools employ its concepts.
Fundamental of Database System 2
• E/R modeling is based on the concept of
Entities, attributes and relationships.
• Creating an Entity-Relationship Model
involves:
1. Identify entities
2. Identify entity attributes and primary keys
3. Specify relationships

Fundamental of Database System 3

 Entities and Their Attributes
• The basic object that the ER model represents is an entity,
which is a "thing" in the real world with an independent
existence.
• Entities are specific objects or things in the mini-world that
are represented in the database.
• An entity may be an object with a physical existence—a
particular person, car, house, or employee—or it may be an
object with a conceptual existence—a company, a job, or a
university course.
• Each entity has attributes—the particular properties that
describe it.
For example, an employee entity may be described by the
employee’s name, age, address, salary, and job.
Fundamental of Database System 4
• A particular entity will have a value for each of its
attributes.
• The attribute values that describe each entity become
a major part of the data stored in the database.
– A specific entity will have a value for each of its attributes.
For example a specific employee entity may have
Name='John Smith', SSN='123456789', Address ='731,
Fondren, Houston, TX', Sex='M', BirthDate='09-JAN-55‘
– Each attribute has a value set (or data type) associated with
it – e.g. integer, string, subrange, enumerated type, …

Fundamental of Database System 5

 Types of Attributes

1. Simple (atomic) Vs Composite attributes

• Simple : contains a single value (not divided into sub
parts) E.g. Age, gender
• Composite: Divided into sub parts (composed of other
attributes)
E.g. Address (House#, Street, City, State, ZipCode, Country)
Name (First Name, Middle Name, Last Name).
2. Single-valued Vs multi-valued attributes
 Single-valued : have only single value(the value may
change but has only one value at one time)
E.g. Name, Sex, Id. No. color_of_eyes
Fundamental of Database System 6
 Multi-valued
– An entity may have multiple values for that attribute. For
example, Color of a CAR or PreviousDegrees of a
STUDENT. Denoted as {Color} or {PreviousDegrees}.
E.g. Address, dependent-name
– Person may have several college degrees
3. Stored vs. Derived Attribute
 Stored : not possible to derive or compute.
E.g. Name, Address
 Derived: The value may be derived (computed) from the
values of other attributes.
– E.g. Age (current year – year of birth)
– Length of employment (current date- start date)
– Profit (earning-cost)
– G.P.A (grade point/credit hours)
Fundamental of Database System 7
4.Null Values
– NULL applies to attributes which are not
applicable or which do not have values.
– You may enter the value NA (meaning not
applicable)
– Value of a key attribute can not be null.

Fundamental of Database System 8

 Entity Types , entity sets and Key
Attributes
• A database usually contains groups of entities that are
similar.
• An entity type defines a collection (or set) of entities
that have the same attributes.
• Each entity type in the database is described by its
name and attributes.
• For example, a company employing hundreds of
employees may want to store similar information
concerning each of the employees.
• These employee entities share the same attributes, but
each entity has its own value(s) for each attribute.
Fundamental of Database System 9
• The collection of all entities of a particular
entity type in the database at any point in time
is called an entity set; the entity set is usually
referred to using the same name as the entity
type.
• For example, EMPLOYEE refers to both a
type of entity as well as the current set of all
employee entities in the database.

Fundamental of Database System 10

• An entity set is a set consisting of the same
type of entities that share same properties.
Some specific examples of entities are
EMPLOYEES, PROJECTS, CUSTOMERS …
Then The “EMPLOYEES” entity set represents
all the set of employees and the “Projects”
entity set represents all the set of projects.

Fundamental of Database System 11

 Con’t

Fundamental of Database System 12

Entities are classified as independent (Strong) or
dependent (Weak).
• A strong (independent) entity is one that does not
rely on other entities for identification.
• Entity types that do have a key attribute are
sometimes called strong entity types.
• A weak (dependent) entity is one that relies on other
entities for identification.
• Entity types that do not have key attributes of their
own are called weak entity types
An individual occurrence of an entity set is also known
as an instance (object).

Fundamental of Database System 13

 Key Attributes of an Entity Type
• An important constraint on the entities of an entity type is
the key or uniqueness constraint on attributes.
• An entity type usually has an attribute whose values are
distinct for each individual entity in the collection.
• Such an attribute is called a key attribute, and its values
can be used to identify each entity uniquely.
• For example for the PERSON entity type, a typical key
attribute is SocialSecurityNumber.
• Keys – are attributes or set of attributes that can be used
to uniquely identify an entity within the entity set.
• A key in E/R model is represented by underlining the
attributes belonging to the key
• As described above keys are attributes or set of attributes
that suffice to distinguish entities from each other.
Fundamental of Database System 14
Fundamental of Database System 15
 Keys
Unique keys Non unique keys

• Data value is unique for • Data value may be shared

each row among several rows, key
• So the key uniquely will identify set of rows
specify a single row • The value of the column
may be the same for more
Unique keys are classified as:
than one row.
 composite key
• Foreign key is an example
 Candidate key of non unique key
 primary key
 Surrogate key
Fundamental of Database System 16
 Unique key
• Super Key: an attribute or set of attributes that uniquely identifies a
tuple within a relation.
• Candidate key:- it is called candidate because it has the potential to
become the primary key.
A candidate key has two properties:
– Uniqueness
– Irreducibility
• If a super key is having only one attribute, it is automatically a
Candidate key.
• If a candidate key consists of more than one attribute it is called
Composite Key.
• Composite key:- is a unique key composed of two or more
attributes and uniquely identify the row.
For example Title, year and StarName can be key for movie entity
which can identify uniquely one movie from the other.
Fundamental of Database System 17
 Con’t
Primary key:- is a Candidate key chosen to be
the main key for the relation.
Surrogate key:- is a unique key in which
numeric value is added to serve as the primary
key. Often used in place of a composite primary
key.

Fundamental of Database System 18

 Non unique key
• Foreign key:- it s a primary key from table that
is placed into another table for the purpose of
linking the tables.
• The key is called foreign key in the table that
receives the key.

Fundamental of Database System 19

 SQL Constraints

• Constraints are the rules enforced on data columns

on a table. These are used to limit the type of data that
can go into a table. This ensures the accuracy and
reliability of the data in the database.
• Constraints can either be column level or table level.
Column level constraints are applied only to one
column whereas, table level constraints are applied to
the entire table.

Fundamental of Database System 20

 Con’t
• Following are some of the most commonly used constraints available in
SQL:
 NOT NULL Constraint: Ensures that a column cannot have a NULL value.
DEFAULT Constraint: Provides a default value for a column when none is specified.
Default value - assumed value if no explicit value
 UNIQUE Constraint: Ensures that all the values in a column are different.
 PRIMARY Key: Uniquely identifies each row/record in a database table.
 FOREIGN Key: Uniquely identifies a row/record in any another database
table.
 CHECK Constraint: The CHECK constraint ensures that all values in a
column satisfy certain conditions.
 INDEX: Used to create and retrieve data from the database very quickly.

Fundamental of Database System 21

 Data Integrity
• The following categories of data integrity exist with each
RDBMS:
Entity Integrity: There are no duplicate rows in a table.
The entity integrity constraint states that in a base relation, no
attribute of a Primary Key can assume a value of NULL .
Domain Integrity: Enforces valid entries for a given column by
restricting the type, the format, or the range of values.
Referential Integrity: If a Foreign Key exists in a relation, either
the Foreign Key value must match a Candidate Key value in its
home relation or the Foreign Key value must be NULL.
Enterprise Integrity: Additional rules specified by the users or
database administrators of a database are incorporated.
Fundamental of Database System 22
 Relationship
• A Relationship represents an association between two or
more entities.
• Relationships are represented by DIAMOND shaped
symbols
• A relationship should be named by a word or phrase
which explains its function
An example of a relationship would be:
- “EMPLOYEES” are Assigned to “TEAMS”
- “CUSTOMERS” Owns “PROJECTS”
- “TEAMS” works on “PROJECTS”
- Strong Relationship is a relationship between two
strong Entities
Fundamental of Database System 23
 Con’t

Strong Relationship
• Weak Relationship is a relationship between Weak and Strong
Entities
Weak relationship

• A Relationship Set is then a set consisting same types of

relationships. The entities involved in the relationship are
known as participating entities and the function the entity
plays in a relationship is called the entity’s role.

Fundamental of Database System 24

• Example: In the Assigned relationship “EMPLOYEES”
and “TEAMS” entity sets are the participating entity
sets; and the “EMPLOYEES” entity has a role as a
“Programmer” or “Team Leader” in the relationship.
• Relationships are classified in terms of degree,
connectivity, cardinality, and existence.
• Degree: The degree of a relationship is the number
of entities associated with the relationship.
• The n-ary (multi-way) relationship is the general
form for degree n. Special cases are the binary, and
ternary, where the degree is 2, and 3, respectively.

Fundamental of Database System 25

• Connectivity: The connectivity of a relationship
describes the mapping of associated entity
instances in the relationship.
• The values of connectivity are “one” or “many”.
• Cardinality: The cardinality of a relationship is
the actual number of related occurrences for
each of the two entities.
• The basic types of connectivity for relations are:
a) one-to-one
b) one-to-many
c) many-to -one
d) and many-to-many.
Fundamental of Database System 26
a) ONE-TO-ONE: one tuple is associated with
only one other tuple.
– E.g. Building – Location as a single building
will be located in a single location and as a single
location will only accommodate a single Building.
b) ONE-TO-MANY, one tupelo can be associated with
many other tuples, but not the reverse.
– E.g. Department-Student as one department can
have multiple students.
c) MANY-TO-ONE, many tuples are associated with
one tuple but not the reverse.
– E.g. Employee – Department: as many employees
belong to a single department.

Fundamental of Database System 27

d)MANY-TO-MANY: one tuple is associated
with many other tuples and from the other
side, with a different role name one tuple will
be associated with many tuples
– E.g. Student – Course as a student can take many
courses and a single course can be attended by
many students.

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Fundamental of Database System 29
• Existence: denotes whether the existence of an
entity instance is dependent upon the existence
of another, related, entity instance.
• The existence of an entity in a relationship is
defined as either mandatory or optional.

Fundamental of Database System 30

 Cardinality Limits of a Relationship
The credential limit of a relationship is labeled as:
• - 0..* or 0..∞ indicating zero or more
participation of the entity in the relationship.
• - 1..* or 1..∞ indicating one or more
participation of the entity in the relationship.
• - 0..1 indicating zero or one participation of the
entity in the relationship.
• - 1..1 indicating exactly one participation of the
entity in the relationship.

Fundamental of Database System 31

 Database Design
• The Three levels of Database Design
Conceptual design
Logical design
Physical design
Physical Database Design
 Physical design is the process of producing a description of
the implementation of the database on secondary storage.
 defines specific storage or access methods used by database.
 Describes the storage structures and access methods used to
achieve efficient access to the data.
 Includes estimate of storage space

Fundamental of Database System 32

Logical Database Design
• Logical design is the process of constructing a
model of the information used in an enterprise
based on a specific data model (e.g. relational,
hierarchical or network or object), but
independent of a particular DBMS and other
physical considerations.
• Normalization process
• Discover new entities
• Revise attributes

Fundamental of Database System 33

Conceptual Database Design
• Conceptual design revolves around
discovering and analyzing and organizing
organizational and user data requirements
• The important activities are to identify
– Entities
– Attributes
– Relationships
– Constraints
• And based on these components develop the
ER model using ER diagrams
Fundamental of Database System 34
 The Entity Relationship (E-R) Model
• The Entity Relationship (E/R) data model is a diagrammatical data
model.
• Entity-Relationship modeling is used to represent conceptual view
of the database
• The main components of ER Modeling are:
o Entities
 Corresponds to entire table, not row
 Represented by Rectangle
o Attributes
 Represents the property used to describe an entity or a relationship
 Represented by Oval
o Relationships
 Represents the association that exist between entities
 Represented by Diamond
o Constraints Fundamental of Database System 35
 Developing an E-R Diagram
• Designing conceptual model for the database is
not a one linear process but an iterative activity
where the design is refined again and again.
• To identify the entities, attributes, relationships,
and constraints on the data, there are different
set of methods used during the analysis phase.
• These include information gathered by…
 Interviewing end users individually and in a group
 Questionnaire survey
 Direct observation
 Examining different documents
Fundamental of Database System 36
• The basic E-R model is graphically depicted and
presented for review.
• The process is repeated until the end users and designers
agree that the E-R diagram is a fair representation of the
organization’s activities and functions.
• Check for Redundant Relationships in the ER Diagram.
• Relationships between entities indicate access from one
entity to another - it is therefore possible to access one
entity occurrence from another entity occurrence even if
there are other entities and relationships that separate
them - this is often referred to as Navigation' of the ER
diagram.
• The last phase in ER modeling is validating an ER
Model against requirement of the user.
Fundamental of Database System 37
 Graphical Representations in ER Diagramming
The elements of the E/R model are represented by:
- Rectangles - for the Entity sets,
- Ellipses - for the Attributes,
- Diamonds - for the Relationships,
- Lines - for the links between the attributes and the entity
sets and between the entity sets and the relationships.

Fundamental of Database System 38

-Double border Rectangles - for the weak entity sets.
- Double border Ellipses - for the multi-valued
attributes.
- Dashed border Ellipses - for the derived attributes.
- Arrow Head Line - for the link between an entity set
and a one-to-one or many-to-one relationship.
- The arrow is headed to the one side entity set.
- PRIMARY KEYS are underlined.

Fundamental of Database System 39

 40
Fundamental of Database System
Example 1
• Build an ER Diagram for the following
information:
Students
• Have an Id, Name, Dept, Age, Gpa
Courses
• Have an Id, Name, Credit Hours
Students
• Enroll in courses and receive a grade

Fundamental of Database System 41

Fundamental of Database System 42
Example 2: build an E-R diagram given the following
information.
- “EMPLOYEES” are Assigned to “TEAMS”
- “CUSTOMERS” Owns “PROJECTS”
- “TEAMS” works on “PROJECTS”
Employees
• have : Empid, Bdate, Name, age and address
Teams
• Have: Name and description
Customers
• Have: customer Id ,name, address
project
• have: name, project id, Sdate, Ddate
Fundamental of Database System 43
Fig: sample E-R model
Fundamental of Database System 44