Entity-Relationship (E-R) modeling: constructing a conceptual schema (Chapter 5)Due to course constraints I have to defer other modeling issues (normalization in chapters 3 and 4) until later in the semester.

Entitya thing you need to model.It is analogous to a class in object oriented design.

Fields of an entity are called attributes. An entity instance is an occurrence of a particular entity.

It is analogous to an object. However, there is no encapsulation in the OO sense.

One or more attributes is usually an identifier, which uniquely identifies an entity. It is also called a key, though the term identifier is used in the data model and key is used when creating tables. Semantics.

Design issue:Many designers like to keep each identifier and primary key datalessThis means that it contains no information about the entity. This way, they never change. Ex. IDs, account numbers, etc.

Advantageous if there’s an index or hash function that uses the keys since a changing key would change the internal structure.Also useful since a key value sometimes exists in other records that are related to the entity with the given key.These would need to change also.

A relationship defines how two or more entities are connected according the rules in the reality you are modeling.

Some guidelines

A relationship should be named and well-defined. Do not simply state there is a relationship between two entities.Articulate what the relationship represents.

Example:there is a relationship between a student entity and a course entity. So?Does it represent courses for which the student has registered?Does it represent courses dropped?Does it represent courses needed for a major?Does it represent courses on a transcript?Spell it out!!

Degree of a relationship is the number of entities involved. Most are degree 2 (binary relationships) but some are more. A ternary relationship involves 3 entities. Example: p. 148. Can you think of more?

Cardinality is the number of entity instances in a relationship. Maximum cardinality is the maximum number of instances in a relationship.For example, the relationship between a sports team and its players has a maximum cardinality defined by rules of the sport.

Three types of maximum cardinality

1-1 relationship between A and BFor each instance of type A there is no more than one instance of type B, and vice-versa.

Notation and example: p. 149

Some possible examples:

Employee fleet vehicle

Project employee (defined by who is project leader and assumes each employee leads no more than one project.)

Employee computer

1:1

1:1

1:1

1-many relationship between A and BFor each instance of type A there may be many instances of type B; however, for each instance of type B there is no more than one instance of type A. Notation and example: p. 149.

Other possible examples:

Course sections

Departments employees

project employees (participation)

Employee computer

1:N

1:N

1:N

1:N

May actually specify a maximum number.

Example: Team-players. Number depends on the sport.

Sometimes the term parent applies to the entity on the “one side” and child applies to the entity on the “many side”.

Many-many relationship between A and B

For each instance of type A there may be many instances of type B, and vice-versa. Notation: p. 149More examples follow

Students courses (could have several meanings)Authors booksMovies actors; advisors students; artist songsMajor courses

N:M

N:M

N:M

N:M

N:M

N:M

These are sometimes called HAS-A relationships. A team has players; a student has courses; etc.

Minimum cardinalityMay specify a minimum number of instances. Can specify whether an instance is mandatory or optional. Examples: p. 150. Can you think of more?

A crow’s foot notation (page 152-153) often used to provide a visual of the relationships. We’ll use this notation in subsequent diagrams

Weak entity

Cannot exist unless another type of entity existsEmployeedependent (dependent is weak)building room (room is weak)course section (section is weak)book has more

ID-dependent entity

special type of weak entity in which the ID contains the ID of another entityEX: Rooms on campus have an ID such as MAC 122 (Building ID and room number).Other examples on page 154All ID-dependent entities are weakA weak entity may not be ID-dependent (example p.155)

Shown in diagram using solid lines (ex. P.154)If the parent entity is removed, so must all child entities.Dashed lines represent non-identifying relationships

Strong entity

existence does not depend on another entity. Ex: Students, employees, departments, computer, building, etc.

Difference between strong and weak not always clear.Subject to variances in interpretation of the mode.Kroenke lists possible tests on page 156 and 160

Example:One-to-many relationship between a pharmaceutical company and a drug.One-to-many relationship between an employee and a dependent.Dependent does not exist w/o the employee.Drug does not exist w/o the pharmaceutical companyAre drug and dependent both weak?

If the employee is removed the dependent disappears.If the pharmaceutical company disappears, the drug may be assigned to another company.Argues that the drug is strong.

Creating an E-R diagram using Visio:

Open Microsoft Office Visio.Select Software and Database under template categories. Select Database Model Diagram as a template.Press the Create button.Drag and drop one or more entity images to your worksheet.

Double click on the icon and, through the properties pane below the worksheet, you can give it a name and define its fields.Drag and drop a relationship icon to the worksheet. Connect each end to an entity.

To get the “crow’s foot” formatselect Display Options in the database tabSelect the Relationship tabcheck the Crow’s feet checkbox.Double click the relationship iconselect miscellaneous under categoriesSelect the appropriate cardinality.

NOTE: Visio does not allow the specification of a many-to-many relationship. Does a poor job as a modeling tool. However, we will see later that ALL many-to-many relationships can be implemented via two one-to-many relationships

Probably best to NOT use visio for true data modeling diagrams.But OK for defining relationships among tables and for this course.

Ternary relationships.

Doctor – Patients – DrugsRelationship below does not convey all necessary information

patient drugn:m doctor drugn:m

prescription prescribes

A specific drug given to a patient must have been prescribed by a doctor. Would need

doctor patient

drugs

Building a data model:

Interview the users of data. Find out how they operate!!Look at existing forms, reports, files, lists, etc.Determine entities. Look for key words such as order, appointment, product, customer, etc.

Specify relationships. Examine all combinations of entities or examine documents obtained from previous steps.

Determine what attribute (identifier) uniquely determines an entity.

Determine attributes.Ask whether an attribute should be its own entity. Salesperson has a region: should region be just an attribute or a separate entity?

Data models should reflect reality. Problem is one person’s reality may be different than another’s.

See book for examples.

In Class example: Design a data model for a university database.

Using Patterns to design relationships.

Asking users what the maximum cardinality is won’t work

they won’t know what you’re talking about.You can show them a prototype form or report to learn how many entity objects relate to another.Ex. Show a course form to a user that shows one instructor. The user will likely let you know if other instructors should be shown.

Figure 5-15a on p. 159 Suggests a 1-1 relationship between strong entities member and lockerData model in Figure 5-16

Figure 5-17 on p. 160 Suggests a one-to-many between company and departmentFigure 5-18 shows the model

Figures 5-19a and 5-19b on p. 161 The form and report suggest a many-to-many relationship between company and partData model in Figure 5.20

Association pattern: Consider a n:m relationship connecting students and courses (transcript). Where is the grade stored?It is not part of the student entityIt is not part of the course entity.

The data model should show a 3rd entity (transcript?) containing the grade This is analogous to the example from figures 5.21 & 5.22 on p. 162-163

Student Courses

transcripts

Multivalued attribute pattern when is an attribute not an attribute

Consider a customer entity. Is the phone number an attribute?

If just one number, store as an attribute.If multiple numbers, might be a problem since arrays or lists can not be attribute types in a relation.

May create an ID-dependent entity, PHONE, connected to the customer.If just two numbers max, might create a primary and secondary phone number attribute of the customer.

Archetype/Instance pattern

One entity represents an instance of another.Prints of a paintingCopies of a bookSections of a course

Line Item Pattern

Multiple instances of an entity used to describe another entityEx: Line items to describe an order

Recursive relationships – may be 1:1, 1:n, or n:m

A course and it’s prerequisites (n:m). A course may have multiple prerequisites and may be a prerequisite for multiple other courses.

Manufacturing (Bill of Materials). Products consists of parts, some of which are composed of other parts. Parts may be included in other parts (p. 173)

Basic ER modeling

Define strong and weak entities.Define relationships and categorize as 1:1, 1:n, or n:mThe rest allows you to refine for better accuracy.

Subtype entities

Similar to inheritance.A subtype entity isa special case of another entity (supertype).Ex. Distinction of male and female patients for medical tests.Ex. Distinction of different types of employees.Diagram notation on page 156 and 158.

Discriminator: supertype attribute that determines the subtype.Ex: patient gender or employee classification.May not always exist.Examples on page 156

An exclusive subtype means the supertype relates to at most one subtype.An inclusive subtype means the supertype can relate to more than one subtype.Ex. A patient is male or female, not both.An employee might be a team leader, programmer, analyst, or all.