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Chapter-04

Chapter 4 of COMP255 focuses on Entity Relationship (ER) Modeling, outlining key characteristics of ER components, relationships, and their impact on database design. It discusses various ERD styles, attributes, and the importance of handling multivalued and derived attributes. The chapter also covers relationship characteristics, participation, and the process of developing an ERD based on business rules.

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Xenos Playground aka Boxman Studios
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3 views

Chapter-04

Chapter 4 of COMP255 focuses on Entity Relationship (ER) Modeling, outlining key characteristics of ER components, relationships, and their impact on database design. It discusses various ERD styles, attributes, and the importance of handling multivalued and derived attributes. The chapter also covers relationship characteristics, participation, and the process of developing an ERD based on business rules.

Uploaded by

Xenos Playground aka Boxman Studios
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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COMP255

Chapter 4
Entity Relationship (ER) Modeling

1
Learning Objectives
●
Identify the main characteristics of entity relationship
components
●
Describe how relationships between entities are defined,
refined, and incorporated into the database design process
●
See how ERD components affect database design and
implementation
●
Understand that real-world database design often requires the
reconciliation of conflicting goals

2
ERD Styles
●
Chen
– Favors conceptual modeling
●
Crow’s Foot
– More of an implementation-oriented approach
– What this class will focus on
●
UML
– Conceptual and implementation

3
Components
●
Entities
– Nouns in the business rules
●
Attributes
– Characteristics of an entity
●
Relationships
– How entities “link” to each other

4
Entity in ERM
●
Object of interest to the end user
●
Refers to an entity set – not a single occurrence
●
Entities in ERM correspond to tables in the database
●
In ERD
– Entities are represented by rectangles
– Entity names are all capitals

5
ERD Example

6
Attribute Definitions
●
Required attribute
– Attribute must have a value (cannot be NULL)
– Bold in Crow’s foot diagram
●
Optional attribute
– Does not need a value (can be NULL)
– Not bold in Crow’s foot diagram
●
Domain
– Set of potential values for an attribute

7
More Definitions
●
Composite identifier
– Key made up of more than one attribute
●
Composite attribute
– Attribute that can be divided
– Phone number: area code and local number
●
Simple attribute
– Cannot be divided

8
Text Notation
●
TABLE( KEY_ATTR_1, ATTR_2, ATTR_3 )
●
Primary Key
– Bold and underlined, same in Crow’s Foot
●
Required attribute
– Bold
●
Optional attribute
– Not bold

9
More Definitions
●
Single-valued attribute
– Can only have one value at a time
●
Multivalued attribute
– Can have more than one value
– Cannot have in a relational database
– Car color is an example
●
Top color, body color, trim color, interior color

10
Text and ERD
●
CAR (CAR_VIN, MOD_CODE, CAR_YEAR, CAR_COLOR)
●
Note how the primary key is identified

11
Handling Multivalued Attributes
●
Add additional attributes
– How many? What if more are added?

12
Handling Multivalued Attributes
●
Create a new entity
– To me, the best solution
– Note how the foreign key is identified

13
Derived Attributes
●
Attributes that can be computed from other attributes
●
Example
– DATE_OF_BIRTH and AGE
– AGE can be computed
●
Store AGE in the database?
– I say never

14
Derived Attributes

15
Relationships
●
Application of business rules
●
Bidirectional
– A CUSTOMER may generate many INVOICEs
– Each INVOICE is generated by one CUSTOMER

16
Relationship Characteristics
●
Connectivity
– Type of relationship
– 1:1, 1:M, M:N
●
Cardinality
– Minimum and maximum number of occurrences

17
Crow’s Foot Symbols

18
Sometimes Added to ERD

Cardinality can just be identified using the symbols


19
Relationships and Entities
●
Existence dependent
– A property of an entity whose existence depends on one or more
other entities
●
Existence independent
– A property of an entity that can exist apart from one or more related
entities
●
Strong (regular) entity
– Entity that is existence independent

20
Relationship Strength
●
Weak
– Primary key of the related entity does not contain a
primary key component of the parent entity
●
Strong
– Primary key of the related entity contains a primary
key component of the parent entity

21
Weak and Strong Relationships

22
Weak Entities
●
Existence-dependent
●
Has a primary key
that is partially or
totally derived from
parent entity in the
relationship

23
Relationship Participation
●
Optional participation
– One entity occurrence does not require a corresponding
entity occurrence in a particular relationship
●
Mandatory participation
– One entity occurrence requires a corresponding entity
occurrence in a particular relationship
●
Part of cardinality

24
Participation Symbols

25
Relationship Degrees
●
Unary relationship ●
Ternary relationship
– Association is – Three entities are
maintained within a associated
single entity ●
Recursive relationship
●
Binary relationship – Relationship exists
within a single entity type
– Two entities are
associated

26
Examples

27
Composite Entities

28
Developing an ERD
●
Create a detailed narrative of the organization’s description of
operations
●
Identify business rules based on the descriptions
●
Identify main entities and relationships from the business rules
●
Develop the initial ERD
●
Identify the attributes and primary keys that adequately describe
entities
●
Revise and review ERD

29

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