DATABASES

What is a Database?

• It is a collection of information related to a particular subject or purpose.

• A collection of related data or information grouped together under one logical structure.
• A logical collection of related files grouped together by a series of tables as one entity.

Examples of databases.
You can create a database for;

• Customers’ details.
• Personal records.
• Employees’ records.
• Library records.
• Flight schedules.
• A music collection.
• An Address book (or Telephone directory), where each person has the Name, Address, City
& Telephone no

DATA BASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (DBMS).

• These are programs used to store & manage files or records containing related information.
• A collection of programs required to store & retrieve data from a database.
• A DBMS is a tool that allows one to create, maintain, update and store the data within a
database.
A DBMS is a complex software, which creates, expands & maintains the database, and it also
provides the interface between the user and the data in the database.
A DBMS enables the user to create lists of information in a computer, analyse them, add new
information, delete old information, and so on. It allows users to efficiently store information in
an orderly manner for quick retrieval.
A DBMS can also be used as a programming tool to write custom-made programs.

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FUNCTIONS OF A DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.

The DBMS is a set of software, which have several functions in relation to the database as listed
below:
1. Creates or constructs the database contents through the Data Manipulation Languages.
2. Interfaces (links) the user to the database contents through Data Manipulation Languages.
3. Ensures the growth of the database contents through addition of new fields & records onto
the database.
4. Maintains the contents of the database. This involves adding new records or files into the
database, modifying the already existing records & deleting of the outdated records.

5. It helps the user to sort through the records & compile lists based on any criteria he/she
would like to establish.
6. Manages the storage space for the data within the database & keeps track of all the data in
the database.
7. It provides flexible processing methods for the contents of the database.
8. Protects the contents of the database against all sorts of damage or misuse, e.g. illegal
access.
9. Monitors the usage of the database contents to determine the rarely used data and those
that are frequently used, so that they can be made readily available, whenever need arises.
10. It maintains a dictionary of the data within the database & manages the data descriptions in
the dictionary.

Note. Database Management System (DBMS) is used for database;

• Creation.
• Manipulation.
• Control, and
• Report generation.

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ADVANTAGES OF USING A DBMS.

Database systems can be used to store data, retrieve and generate reports.

1. It is easy to maintain the data stored within a database.

2. A DBMS is able to handle large amounts of data.
3. Data is stored in an organized format, i.e. under different fieldnames.
4. With modern equipment, data can easily be recorded.
5. Data is quickly & easily accessed or retrieved, as it is properly organized.
6. It helps in linking many database tables and sourcing of data from these tables.
7. It is quite easy to update the data stored within a database.
8. A database is a collection of files grouped together by a series of tables as one entity. These
tables serve as an index for defining relationships between records and files maintained in
the database. This makes updating of the data in the related tables very easy.
9. Use of a database tool reduces duplication of the stored files, and the reprocessing of the
same data items. In addition, several independent files are maintained for the different
user requirements.
10. It is used to query & display records satisfying a given condition.
11. It is easy to analyze information stored in a database & to prepare summary reports &
charts.
12. It cost saving. This results from the sharing of records, reduced processing times, reduced
use of software and hardware, more efficient use of data processing personnel, and an
overall improvement in the flow of data.
13. Use of Integrated systems is greatly facilitated. An Integrated system – A total system
approach that unifies all the aspects of the organization. Facilities are shared across the
complete organization.
14. A lot of programming time is saved because the DBMS can be used to construct & process
files as well as retrieve data.

15. Information supplied to managers is more valuable, because it is based on a widespread

collection of data (instead of files, which contain only the data needed for one application).
16. The database also maintains an extensive Inventory Control file. This file gives an account
of all the parts & equipment throughout the maintenance system. It also defines the status
of each part and its location.
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 17. It enables timely & accurate reporting of data to all the maintenance centers. The same
data is available and distributed to everyone.
18. The database maintains files related to any work assigned to outside service centers.

Many parts are repaired by the vendors from whom they are purchased. A database is used
to maintain data on the parts that have been shipped to vendors and those that are
outstanding from the inventory. Data relating to the guarantees and warranties of
individual vendors are also stored in the database.

DISADVANTAGES OF DATABASES.

1. A Database system requires a big size, very high cost & a lot of time to implement.
2. A Database requires the use of a large-scale computer system.
3. The time involved. A project of this type requires a minimum of 1 – 2 years.
4. A large full-time staff is also required to design, program, & support the implementation of a
database.
5. The cost of the database project is a limiting factor for many organizations.
6. Database-oriented computer systems are not luxuries, and are undertaken when proven
economically reasonable.

What are the Attributes of DBMS?

In a database management system (DBMS), an attribute is a piece of data that describes an entity.
For example, in a customer database, the attributes might be name, address, and phone number.
In a product database, the attributes might be name, price, and date of manufacture. Each
attribute has a specific data type, such as string, integer, or date.

Attributes can be used to describe both simple and complex entities. A product, for example, might
be described by a single attribute such as name or price. However, it can also be described by
multiple attributes such as name, price, and date of manufacture. In addition, some attributes
might be used to describe other attributes. For example, an attribute called "color" might describe
a product's color.

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Why do we need to Use Attributes?
Attributes are important because they help to describe the entities in a database. They also help to
distinguish one entity from another. For example, if two customers have the same name, we can use
their address attribute to identify them. Similarly, if two products have the same name, we can use their
price or manufacturer attributes to identify them.

Attributes also play an important role in making databases searchable. For example, if we want to
find all customers who live in a particular zip code, we can use the customer's address attribute to
search for them. Or if we want to find all products that cost less than $10, we can use the
product's price attribute to search for them.

In short, attributes are important in DBMS because they help define the data structure in a
database. Without attributes, it would be difficult to organize and query data meaningfully.
Attributes also help to ensure data accuracy by providing clear definitions for the data being
entered into a database.

Types of Attributes

Let's understand the different types of attributes in DBMS, along with their examples.

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1. Simple Attributes
Simple attributes are those that cannot be further divided into sub-attributes. For example, A student's
roll number of a student or the employee identification number. These attributes are usually assigned
by an organization and are used to identify an individual within that organization uniquely. Databases
and other systems often use simple attributes to track and manage information.

2. Composite Attributes

Composite attributes are made up of two or more simple attributes. For example, a person's
address may be a composite attribute that is made up of the person's street address, city, state,
and zip code. Composite attributes can be used to create more complex data models and can be
helpful when trying to represent data in a concise way.

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3. Single Valued Attributes

Single-valued attributes can only have one value. For example, a person's Social Security Number
is a single-valued attribute. Social Security Numbers are used to uniquely identify individuals in the
United States and are, therefore, single-valued attributes.

Examples of single-valued attributes include employee numbers, customer numbers, and product
codes. Single-valued attributes are typically used to provide a unique identifier for an entity and
are often used in databases.

4. Multivalued Attributes

Multivalued attributes can have more than one value. For example, a person may have multiple
email addresses or phone numbers. Multivalued attributes in DBMS are often used to store
information about relationships between entities. For instance, an employee entity might have a
multivalued attribute called "dependents" that stores the names of the employee's dependents.
Multivalued attributes can also be used to represent hierarchical data.

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5. Derived Attributes
Derived attributes are based on other attributes and are not stored directly in the database.
For example: Consider a database of employees. Each employee has a date of birth, and we might
want to calculate their age. However, age is a derived attribute because it can be determined from
the date of birth. As such, it would not make sense to store it directly in the database. Here is an
example diagram of a derived attribute in DBMS:

6. Complex Attributes

The complex attribute in DBMS involves both multivalued and composite attributes. For example,
someone might have more than one house, and each house might have more than one phone.
The phone is then considered a complex attribute.

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 In the example above, the phone number is a composite attribute of the area code, exchange, and
line number. Complex attributes are often used in database design to represent relationships
between entities. Here is a complex attribute example explained in the form of a diagram.

7. Key Attributes
DBMS's key attributes are used to uniquely identify each row in a table. Usually, there is more than
one key attribute in a table (primary key and foreign key). For example: In a table of employees,
the employee ID would be the primary key, while the manager ID would be the foreign key.

8. Stored Attributes
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In a DBMS, stored attributes are the data that remain constant and fixed for an entity instance.
These values help in deriving the derived attributes. For example: consider a customer entity in a
bank. The customer's name, age, and address would be stored attributes. The customer's account
balance (a derived attribute) could be calculated based on the transactions (another stored
attribute) associated with the customer. So, these are the different attribute types in DBMS and
their importance. We believe, by now, you must be intrigued to learn more about the most wanted
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What is Entity Relationship Diagram?

An Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD) is a pictorial representation of the information that can be
captured by a database. Such a “picture” serves two purposes. It allows database professionals to
describe an overall design concisely yet accurately. An ER Diagram can be easily transformed into
the relational schema. There are three components in ERD: Entities, Attributes, and Relationships.

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Entities
The number of tables you need for your database – Entities is the basic objects of ERDs. These are
the tables of your database, i.e. students, courses, books, campus, employees, payment, projects.
A specific example of an entity is called an instance. Each instance becomes a record or a row in a
table.

Attributes
Information such as property, facts you need to describe each table – Attributes are facts or
descriptions of entities. They are also often nouns and become the columns of the table. For
example, for entity students, the attributes can be first name, last name, email, address, and
phone numbers.
• Primary key is an attribute or a set of attributes that uniquely identifies an instance of the entity. For
example, for a student entity, student number is the primary key since no two students have the
same student number. We can have only one primary key in a table. It identifies uniquely every row
and it cannot be null.
• Foreign key is a key used to link two tables together. Typically, you take the primary key field from
one table and insert it into the other table where it becomes a foreign key (it remains a primary key
in the original table). We can have more than one foreign key in a table.

Relationships: How tables are linked together – Relationships are the associations between the
entities. Verbs often describe relationships between entities. We will use Crow’s Foot Symbols to

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represent the relationships. Three types of relationships are discussed in this lab. If you read or
hear cardinality ratios, it also refers to types of relationships.

Cardinality: it defines the possible number of occurrences in one entity which is associated with
the number of occurrences in another. For example, ONE team has MANY players. When present
in an ERD, the entity Team and Player are inter-connected with a one-to-many relationship.
In an ER diagram, cardinality is represented as a crow’s foot at the connector’s ends. The three
common cardinal relationships are one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many. Here is some
examples cardinality of relationship in ERD:

ERD Example – Customer Appointment

Suppose we have the following business scenario:
• One Customer May Be Making One Or More Appointments
• One Appointment Must Be Made By One And Only One Customer
• The Cardinality Linked from Customer To Appointments Is 0 To Many

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The ERD above using the Crow’s Foot notation:
• Entities Are Shown In A Box With Attributes Listed Below The Entity Name.
• Relationships Are Shown As Solid Lines Between Two Entities.
• The Minimum And Maximum Cardinalities Of The Relationship Linked Between Customer And
Appointment Are Shown With Either A Straight Line And Hash Marks, Or A Crow’s Foot As Shown In
The Figure Below.

Conceptual, Logical and Physical data models

A general understanding to the three data models is that business analyst uses a conceptual and
logical model to model the business objects exist in the system, while database designer or
database engineer elaborates the conceptual and logical ER model to produce the physical model
that presents the physical database structure ready for database creation. The table below shows
the difference between the three data models. An ER model is typically drawn at up to three levels
of abstraction:
• Conceptual ERD / Conceptual Data Model
• Logical ERD / Logical Data Model
• Physical ERD / Physical Data Model

While all the three levels of an ER model contain entities with attributes and relationships, they
differ in the purposes they are created for and the audiences they are meant to target.

Conceptual model vs Logical model vs Data model:

ERD feature Conceptual Logical Physical

Entity (name) Yes Yes Yes

Relationship Yes Yes Yes

Column Yes Yes

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Column’s Type Optional Yes

Primary Key Yes

Foreign Key Yes

In the table, it summarizes the characteristics of the three data model:

• The Conceptual Model is to establish the entities, their attributes, and their relationships.
• The Logical Data Model defines the structure of the data elements and set the relationships
Between Them.
• The Physical Data Model describes the database-specific implementation of the data model.

Conceptual data model

Conceptual ERD models the business objects that should exist in a system and the relationships
between them. A conceptual model is developed to present an overall picture of the system by
recognizing the business objects involved. It defines what entities exist, NOT which tables. For
example, ‘many to many’ tables may exist in a logical or physical data model but they are just
shown as a relationship with no cardinality under the conceptual data model.

Conceptual data model example

NOTE: Conceptual ERD supports the use of generalization in modeling the ‘a kind of’ relationship

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between two entities, for instance, Triangle, is a kind of Shape. The usage is like generalization in
UML. Notice that only conceptual ERD supports generalization.

Logical data model

Logical ERD is a detailed version of a Conceptual ERD. A logical ER model is developed to enrich a
conceptual model by defining explicitly the columns in each entity and introducing operational and
transactional entities. Although a logical data model is still independent of the actual database
system in which the database will be created, you can still consider that if it affects the design.

Logical data model example

Physical data model

Physical ERD represents the actual design blueprint of a relational database. A physical data model
elaborates on the logical data model by assigning each column with type, length, nullable, etc.
Since a physical ERD represents how data should be structured and related in a specific DBMS it is
important to consider the convention and restriction of the actual database system in which the
database will be created. Make sure the column types are supported by the DBMS and reserved
words are not used in naming entities and columns.

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Physical data model example

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Normal Forms in DBMS

Normalization is the process of minimizing redundancy from a relation or set of relations. Redundancy in
relation may cause insertion, deletion, and update anomalies. So, it helps to minimize the redundancy in
relations. Normal forms are used to eliminate or reduce redundancy in database tables.

Normalization of DBMS
In database management systems (DBMS), normal forms are a series of guidelines that help to ensure that
the design of a database is efficient, organized, and free from data anomalies. There are several levels of
normalization, each with its own set of guidelines, known as normal forms.

Important Points Regarding Normal Forms in DBMS

• First Normal Form (1NF): This is the most basic level of normalization. In 1NF, each table cell
should contain only a single value, and each column should have a unique name. The first normal
form helps to eliminate duplicate data and simplify queries.

• Second Normal Form (2NF): 2NF eliminates redundant data by requiring that each non-key
attribute be dependent on the primary key. This means that each column should be directly related to
the primary key, and not to other columns.

• Third Normal Form (3NF): 3NF builds on 2NF by requiring that all non-key attributes are
independent of each other. This means that each column should be directly related to the primary
key, and not to any other columns in the same table.

• Boyce-Codd Normal Form (BCNF): BCNF is a stricter form of 3NF that ensures that each
determinant in a table is a candidate key. In other words, BCNF ensures that each non-key attribute is
dependent only on the candidate key.

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 • Fourth Normal Form (4NF): 4NF is a further refinement of BCNF that ensures that a table does not
contain any multi-valued dependencies.
• Fifth Normal Form (5NF): 5NF is the highest level of normalization and involves decomposing a
table into smaller tables to remove data redundancy and improve data integrity.
•

Normal forms help to reduce data redundancy, increase data consistency, and improve database
performance. However, higher levels of normalization can lead to more complex database designs and
queries. It is important to strike a balance between normalization and practicality when designing a
database.

Advantages of Normal Form

• Reduced data redundancy: Normalization helps to eliminate duplicate data in tables, reducing the
amount of storage space needed and improving database efficiency.

• Improved data consistency: Normalization ensures that data is stored in a consistent and
organized manner, reducing the risk of data inconsistencies and errors.

• Simplified database design: Normalization provides guidelines for organizing tables and data
relationships, making it easier to design and maintain a database.

• Improved query performance: Normalized tables are typically easier to search and retrieve data
from, resulting in faster query performance.

• Easier database maintenance: Normalization reduces the complexity of a database by breaking it

down into smaller, more manageable tables, making it easier to add, modify, and delete data.

Overall, using normal forms in DBMS helps to improve data quality, increase database efficiency, and
simplify database design and maintenance.

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First Normal Form
If a relation contains composite or multi-valued attribute, it violates first normal form or a relation is in first
normal form if it does not contain any composite or multi-valued attribute. A relation is in first normal form if
every attribute in that relation is singled valued attribute.

Example 1 – Relation STUDENT in table 1 is not in 1NF because of multi-valued attribute STUD_PHONE. Its
decomposition into 1NF has been shown in table 2.

Example
Example

Example 2 –
ID Name Courses
------------------
1 A c1, c2
2 E c3
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3 M C2, c3
In the above table Course is a multi-valued attribute so it is not in 1NF. Below Table is in 1NF as there is no
multi-valued attribute
ID Name Course
------------------
1 A c1
1 A c2
2 E c3
3 M c2
3 M c3

Second Normal Form

To be in second normal form, a relation must be in first normal form and relation must not contain any
partial dependency. A relation is in 2NF if it has No Partial Dependency, i.e., no non-prime attribute
(attributes which are not part of any candidate key) is dependent on any proper subset of any candidate key
of the table. Partial Dependency – If the proper subset of candidate key determines non-prime attribute, it is
called partial dependency.

Example 1 – Consider table-3 as following below.

STUD_NO COURSE_NO COURSE_FEE
1 C1 1000
2 C2 1500
1 C4 2000
4 C3 1000
4 C1 1000
2 C5 2000

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{Note that, there are many courses having the same course fee} Here, COURSE_FEE cannot alone decide
the value of COURSE_NO or STUD_NO; COURSE_FEE together with STUD_NO cannot decide the value of
COURSE_NO; COURSE_FEE together with COURSE_NO cannot decide the value of STUD_NO; Hence,
COURSE_FEE would be a non-prime attribute, as it does not belong to the one only candidate key
{STUD_NO, COURSE_NO} ; But, COURSE_NO -> COURSE_FEE, i.e., COURSE_FEE is dependent on
COURSE_NO, which is a proper subset of the candidate key. Non-prime attribute COURSE_FEE is dependent
on a proper subset of the candidate key, which is a partial dependency and so this relation is not in 2NF. To
convert the above relation to 2NF, we need to split the table into two tables such as : Table 1: STUD_NO,
COURSE_NO Table 2: COURSE_NO, COURSE_FEE
Table 1 Table 2
STUD_NO COURSE_NO COURSE_NO COURSE_FEE
1 C1 C1 1000
2 C2 C2 1500
1 C4 C3 1000
4 C3 C4 2000
4 C1 C5 2000

NOTE: 2NF tries to reduce the redundant data getting stored in memory. For instance, if there are 100
students taking C1 course, we don’t need to store its Fee as 1000 for all the 100 records, instead, once we
can store it in the second table as the course fee for C1 is 1000.

Example 2 – Consider following functional dependencies in relation R (A, B , C, D )

AB -> C [A and B together determine C]
BC -> D [B and C together determine D]

In the above relation, AB is the only candidate key and there is no partial dependency, i.e., any proper
subset of AB doesn’t determine any non-prime attribute.

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X is a super key.
Y is a prime attribute (each element of Y is part of some candidate key).
Example 1: In relation STUDENT given in Table 4, FD set: {STUD_NO -> STUD_NAME, STUD_NO ->
STUD_STATE, STUD_STATE -> STUD_COUNTRY, STUD_NO -> STUD_AGE}

Candidate Key: {STUD_NO}

For this relation in table 4, STUD_NO -> STUD_STATE and STUD_STATE -> STUD_COUNTRY are true.

So STUD_COUNTRY is transitively dependent on STUD_NO. It violates the third normal form.

To convert it in third normal form, we will decompose the relation STUDENT (STUD_NO, STUD_NAME,
STUD_PHONE, STUD_STATE, STUD_COUNTRY_STUD_AGE) as: STUDENT (STUD_NO, STUD_NAME,
STUD_PHONE, STUD_STATE, STUD_AGE) STATE_COUNTRY (STATE, COUNTRY)

Consider relation R(A, B, C, D, E) A -> BC, CD -> E, B -> D, E -> A All possible candidate keys in above
relation are {A, E, CD, BC} All attributes are on right sides of all functional dependencies are prime.

Example 2: Find the highest normal form of a relation R(A,B,C,D,E) with FD set as {BC->D, AC->BE, B->E}
Step 1: As we can see, (AC)+ ={A,C,B,E,D} but none of its subset can determine all attribute of relation, So
AC will be candidate key. A or C can’t be derived from any other attribute of the relation, so there will be
only 1 candidate key {AC}.

Step 2: Prime attributes are those attributes that are part of candidate key {A, C} in this example and
others will be non-prime {B, D, E} in this example.

Step 3: The relation R is in 1st normal form as a relational DBMS does not allow multi-valued or composite
attribute. The relation is in 2nd normal form because BC->D is in 2nd normal form (BC is not a proper
subset of candidate key AC) and AC->BE is in 2nd normal form (AC is candidate key) and B->E is in 2nd

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normal form (B is not a proper subset of candidate key AC).
The relation is not in 3rd normal form because in BC->D (neither BC is a super key nor D is a prime
attribute) and in B->E (neither B is a super key nor E is a prime attribute) but to satisfy 3rd normal for,
either LHS of an FD should be super key or RHS should be prime attribute. So the highest normal form of
relation will be 2nd Normal form.
For example consider relation R(A, B, C) A -> BC, B -> A and B both are super keys so above relation is in
BCNF.

Third Normal Form

A relation is said to be in third normal form, if we did not have any transitive dependency for non-prime
attributes. The basic condition with the Third Normal Form is that, the relation must be in Second Normal
Form.
Below mentioned is the basic condition that must be hold in the non-trivial functional dependency X -> Y:
• X is a Super Key.
• Y is a Prime Attribute ( this means that element of Y is some part of Candidate Key).

BCNF
BCNF (Boyce-Codd Normal Form) is just a advanced version of Third Normal Form. Here we have some
additional rules than Third Normal Form. The basic condition for any relation to be in BCNF is that it must be
in Third Normal Form.
We have to focus on some basic rules that are for BCNF:
1. Table must be in Third Normal Form.
2. In relation X->Y, X must be a superkey in a relation.

Fourth Normal Form

Fourth Normal Form contains no non-trivial multivaued dependency except candidate key. The basic
condition with Fourth Normal Form is that the relation must be in BCNF.
The basic rules are mentioned below.
1. It must be in BCNF.
2. It does not have any multi-valued dependency.

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Fifth Normal Form
Fifth Normal Form is also called as Projected Normal Form. The basic conditions of Fifth Normal Form is
mentioned below.
Relation must be in Fourth Normal Form.
The relation must not be further non loss decomposed.

Applications of Normal Forms in DBMS

• Data consistency: Normal forms ensure that data is consistent and does not contain any redundant
information. This helps to prevent inconsistencies and errors in the database.

• Data redundancy: Normal forms minimize data redundancy by organizing data into tables that
contain only unique data. This reduces the amount of storage space required for the database and
makes it easier to manage.

• Response time: Normal forms can improve query performance by reducing the number of joins
required to retrieve data. This helps to speed up query processing and improve overall system
performance.

• Database maintenance: Normal forms make it easier to maintain the database by reducing the
amount of redundant data that needs to be updated, deleted, or modified. This helps to improve
database management and reduce the risk of errors or inconsistencies.

• Database design: Normal forms provide guidelines for designing databases that are efficient,
flexible, and scalable. This helps to ensure that the database can be easily modified, updated, or
expanded as needed.

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Some Important Points about Normal Forms
• BCNF is free from redundancy caused by Functional Dependencies.
• If a relation is in BCNF, then 3NF is also satisfied.
• If all attributes of relation are prime attribute, then the relation is always in 3NF.
• A relation in a Relational Database is always and at least in 1NF form.
• Every Binary Relation ( a Relation with only 2 attributes ) is always in BCNF.
• If a Relation has only singleton candidate keys( i.e. every candidate key consists of only 1 attribute),
then the Relation is always in 2NF( because no Partial functional dependency possible).
• Sometimes going for BCNF form may not preserve functional dependency. In that case go for BCNF
only if the lost FD(s) is not required, else normalize till 3NF only.
• There are many more Normal forms that exist after BCNF, like 4NF and more. But in real world
database systems it’s generally not required to go beyond BCNF.

By: Mr. Emmanuel Koroma

By: Mr. Emmanuel Koroma