Lecture 16 : The Relational Data Model

UFCEKG-20-2Data, Schemas & ApplicationsPrakash ChatterjeeRoom 3P16prakash.chatterjee@uwe.ac.ukhttp://www.cems.uwe.ac.uk/~p-chatterjee/2011/dsa Lecture 16 : The Relational Data Model

Origins of the Relational Model • The relational model was developed by EF Codd in the early 1970s. • Commercial systems based on the relational model appeared in the late 1970s. • At present there are several hundred relational DBMSs and most computer vendors support 'relational' software. • Examples of well-known products include Oracle, DB2, Sybase, MySQL, MS.SQL Server and MS Access. Informally, a relational system is a system in which: 1. The data is perceived by the user as tables (and nothing but tables). 2. The operators available to the user for (e.g.) retrieval are operators that derive “new” tables from "old" ones. For example, there is one operator, restrict, which extract a subset of the rows of a given table, and another, project, which extracts a subset of columns - and a row subset and a column subset of a table can both be regarded in turn as tables in their own right.

Components and terminology (1) The model uses terminology taken from mathematics, particularly set theory and predicate logic. Basic terminology used in relational theory includes: • relation - this corresponds to a table or flat file with columns and rows • tuple - a row of a relation • attribute - a named column of a relation • domain - the set of allowable values for one or more attributes • degree of a relation - the number of attributes it contains • cardinality of relation - the number of tuples it contains.

Components and terminology (2)

Properties of relations • There is only one data structure in the relational data model - the relation. • Every relation and every attribute within a relation must have a distinct name. • Attribute (column) values of a relation are atomic (i.e. single valued). • All values in an attribute (column) are taken from same domain. • The ordering of columns in a relation is not significant. • Duplicate tuples (rows) are not allowed (e.g. each row in a relation must be distinct). • The ordering of tuples (rows) and attributes (columns) is not significant.

Relational algebra & relational calculus • Relational algebra (ra) and relational calculus (rc) are both formal (mathematically based) languages defined by EF Codd. • ra & rc are logically equivalent languages. ra is “procedural” and rc is “declarative” in nature. • ra and rc are the formal grounding of the relational database model and illustrate the basic operations required by any data manipulation language such as SQL. • Relational algebra is an offshoot of first-order logic, is a set of relationsclosed under operators. Operators operate on one or more relations to yield a relation. • The “closure” property relates to the fact that from any given relational operation another relation is output - it os often refereed to as the “relations in – relations out” property.

Relational algebra operators (1) • Each relational operator takes one or more relations as its input and produces a new relation as output (closure). Codd originally defined eight operators, in two classes:

Relational algebra operators (2)

Relational algebra operators (3)dept – emp – salgrade example (1) • dept – emp – salgrade example Department : dept (depno, dname, location) Employee : emp (empno, ename, mgr, sal, deptno) Salary Grade : salgrade (grade, losal, hisal)

Relational algebra operators (4)dept – emp – salgrade example (2) • dept table

Relational algebra operators (5)dept – emp – salgrade example (3) • emp table

Relational algebra operators (6)dept – emp – salgrade example (4) • salgrade table

Relational algebra operators (7)dept – emp – salgrade example (5) • Restrict Subset of the Rows in a Table RESTRICT EMP WHERE sal > 2000

Relational algebra operators (8)dept – emp – salgrade example (6) • Project subset the Columns in a Table PROJECT EMP [EMPNO, SAL,DEPTNO]

Relational algebra operators (9)dept – emp – salgrade example (7) • Restrict-Project RESTRICT EMP WHERE SAL >2000 PROJECT EMP[EMPNO, SAL, DEPTNO] call this EMPX Could you reverse these operations - always? ( project then restrict?)

Relational algebra operators (10)dept – emp – salgrade example (8) • Product combine each row of one table with each row of the other PRODUCT DEPT with EMPX

Relational algebra operators (11)dept – emp – salgrade example (9)

Relational algebra operators (12)dept – emp – salgrade example (10) DEPT has 4 records EMPX has 6 records so DEPT x EMPX has 24 records but not very useful

Relational algebra operators (13)dept – emp – salgrade example (11) • Equi-Join product restricted to rows which have matching common domain

Relational algebra operators (14)dept – emp – salgrade example (12) • Natural Join equi-join projected with the duplicate column removed

Basic SQL • SELECT * FROM EMP WHERE SAL > 2000; • SELECT ENAME,SAL,DEPTNO FROM EMP; • SELECT ENAME,SAL,DEPTNO FROM EMP WHERE SAL > 2000; • SELECT * FROM EMP, DEPT WHERE SAL > 2000; • SELECT * FROM EMP,DEPT WHERE SAL > 2000 AND EMP.DEPTNO = DEPT.DEPTNO; • SELECT EMPNO, SAL, DEPTNO, DNAME FROM EMP,DEPT WHERE SAL > 2000 AND EMP.DEPTNO = DEPT.DEPTNO;

Bibliography / Readings / Home based activities Bibliography • An Introduction to Database Systems (8th ed.), C J Date, Addison Wesley 2004 • Database Management Systems, P Ward & G Defoulas, Thomson 2006 Readings • Introduction to SQL’ McGraw-Hill/Osbourne (handout) Home based activities • Ensure you download xampp and install on home PC or laptop (if you have a slow home internet connection – download to data key or CD here at UWE) • Copy the SQL Workbook onto your data key or CD. • Import the tables from the SQL Workbook into your home MySQL DB. Begin working through some of the query examples in the workbook using PHPMyAdmin.

Lecture 16 : The Relational Data Model