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The Entity-Relationship Data Model

This chapter explores the steps involved in designing a database using the Entity-Relationship data model. It covers the analysis phase, designing the database structure, and implementing it in a DBMS. It also explains the concepts of entity sets, attributes, and relationships in the E/R diagram.

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The Entity-Relationship Data Model

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  1. The Entity-Relationship Data Model Chapter 2 (Database Design)

  2. Steps in designing a database • Analysis: • What information needs to be stored? • What are the relationships between different components of the stored information? • What is the suitable database structure (or schema)? • Design the database structure (using a database design language or notation suitable for expressing design) • Implementation in DBMS once committed to the design

  3. Steps in picture • E/R diagram • Relational model • ODL, ORDL Ideas/ Problems Database Structure Database Design DBMS Analysis Design Implementation

  4. Entity-Relationship Model • Traditional & popular • Graphical representation • Three types of elements • Entity set (rectangle) • Attributes (oval) • Relationship (diamond)

  5. Entity Set • Collection of similar objects • Similar to a class in the sense of OOP • Entity vs. entity set • Example: Database about movies, their stars, the studio that producing them, and other aspects of movies. • A movie is an entity • Collection of movies is an entity set • Other entities in this db: ?

  6. Attributes • Entity set has associated attributes • Each attribute represents a property of entities belonging to the entity set • Example: • The entity set Movies has the associated attribute Title each movie has a title • Assumption: attributes are atomic values  address with two components (e.g. number, street) cannot be used as an attribute of an entity set

  7. Relationship • Connections among entity sets • Represent a relationship between entity sets • If E and F are two entity sets and R connect the two, then R is a binary relation between E and F, mathematically we write R  E x F. • Example: Movies and Stars are two entity sets and a connection Stars-In between the two  the intention: m is related to s means that star s starts in movie m.

  8. E/R Diagram • A graph representing entity sets, attributes, and relationships. • Entity set (rectangle) • Attributes (oval) • Relationship (diamond)

  9. name address year title length film type Stars Stars_in Movies name Owns Studios address

  10. A reading of the previous diagram • Three entity sets: • Movies [title,year,length,film type] • Stars [name,address] • Studio [name,address] • Two relationships • (m:n) – Stars_in(Movies,Stars) • (m:1) – Owns(Movies,Studios)

  11. Instance of an E/R diagram • Concrete data of a database, whose structure is represented by a E/R diagram, creates a database instance • In an instance • For each entity set: a particular finite set of entities, each has values for each attribute • For each relationship connecting the entities E1, E2,…,En a set of tuples (e1,e2,…,en) each ei is an entity in the entity set of Ei • Where are the attributes?

  12. Example • A possible database instance of the previous E/R diagram (Note: The info is inserted for illustrative purpose only – it needs not be true in real life) Movies Stars Studio Stars_in Owns

  13. A little of math before continuing • E, F are two sets • R  E x F: R is a binary relation from E to F • R is a set whose member is a pair (e,f) where e is a member of E and f is a member of F • R could be empty, could be equal the Cartesian product of E and F • R is many to one relation if for each e in E there is at most one element (e,f) in R • R is one to one: many to one from E to F and many to one from F to E • R is many to many: not many to one from E to F and not many to one from F to E

  14. many-one one-one one-many many-many

  15. Multiplicity of Binary E/R Relationship • R is a binary relation from E to F • One to many • One to one • Many to many • Representing using arrow in the connection between entity set and relationship • Arrow entering an entity set represents the ‘one’ in the above description

  16. name address year title many-many many-one length film type Stars Stars_in Movies name Owns Studios address

  17. Multiway Relationships • Easy to handle in E/R diagram: connect all related entity sets with the relationship (Note: weakening the relationship (movie,studio)) Stars Movies Contracts Studios Contracts relationship: (studio,star,movie)

  18. Roles in Relationship • An entity set can appear more than one times in a relationship • E/R diagram: labeling the arc connecting the entity set and the relationship Sequel Sequel_of Movies Original

  19. Another example Stars Movies Contracts Producing studio Studio of star Studios

  20. Attributes on Relationships • How to record the salary of a star in a contract? Stars Movies Contracts Studios ? ? ? salary

  21. Attributes on Relationships • How to record the salary of a star in a contract? Ans: attribute of Contracts! Stars Movies Contracts Studios salary

  22. name address year title length film type Stars Movies Contracts name * Studios * salary address The complete diagram of the Contracts relationship. Can we live without *?

  23. name address year title length film type Stars Movies Contracts name Studios Salaries address salary

  24. Eliminating Attributes on Relationship • Introducing a new entity set whose attributes are the attributes attached to the relationship • Connecting the new entity set to the relationship, with the arrow pointed to the new entity set

  25. Converting Multiway Relationship to Binary Relationship • Useful when the language for defining the database structure does not allow multiway relationship. • Simple: • Introducing a new entity set representing the relationship • Introducing binary relation between the new entity set and the old ones which are connecting to the relationship

  26. Stars Movies Contracts Stars Movies Star_of Producing studio Studio of star Movie_of Producing studio Studios Contracts Studios Studio of star Before After

  27. Subclasses in the E/R Model • Subclass: common in real-life • Represented by the isa relationship • isa is one-one relationship • In E/R diagram: • draw as a triangle • no arrows into the entity sets

  28. year title length film type Stars Movies weapon Voices isa isa Cartoons Murder Mysteries At home: read example 2.10 and 2.11.

  29. Design Principles • Faithfulness • Avoiding redundancy • Simple • Select the right relationships • Select the right kind of element

  30. Faithfulness • Entity sets and attributes should reflect reality. • Relationships are created only if they make sense given what we know about the domain/application. • Example: • Stars_in relationship should be many-many • Teaches relationship between Courses and Instructors? What? How?

  31. No Redundancy • Motto: Stored everything only one! • Space reason (less serious) • Consistency (serious) • Example: Add an attribute studioName to the entity set Movies while having the relationship Owns between Movies and Studios – consequences: • More space (obvious: studio name stored twice) • Change in ownership of a movie  change in the Owns relationship and the Movies entity set

  32. Simplicity • Do only whatever is necessary! • Example: Movies Owns Studios is better than Movies Represents Holdings Owns Studios

  33. Right Relationships • Should we represent every possible relationships? NO: due to space & redundancy requirements  get only the necessarily one • How? Consider the assumptions, identify those that cannot be deduced from or represented by others

  34. name address year Stars Stars_in title Movies Contracts name Owns Studios length film type address Assumption: a star can plays in a movie if there is a contract involving the star and the movie  Stars_in is redundant

  35. name address year title length film type Stars Stars_in Movies Works_for name Owns Studios address Question: Would it make sense to have a relationship Works_for?Depending …

  36. Right Kind of Element • Attribute vs. Entity set/Relationship • Example: address • in the examples so far: attribute • better as an entity with attributes such as street, number, zip code, state

  37. name address year Stars title Stars_in Movies name Owns Studios length film type address Example: What happens if we replace Studios by its two attributes?  redundancy, losing information (if a studio does not own a movie its address is lost)

  38. When to use attribute for entity set E? • All relationships connecting to E must have an arrow entering E. • Attributes for E must collectively identify an entity. If there are more than one attributes then they must not depend on each other. • No relationship involves E more than one.

  39. Converting from Entity sets to Attributes R E F A B F A B

  40. Converting from Entity sets to Attributes R E F A B F A R F B F

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