Exam 1-Chapter 2 Flashcards
(35 cards)
Model
An abstraction of a real-world object or event; useful in understanding complexities of the real world environment
Data Models
Relatively simple representations of complex real-world data structures (often graphical); data modeling is iterative and progressive)
Importance of Data Models
Facilitate interaction among the designer, the applications programmer, and the end user
End users have different views and needs for data
Data model organizes data for various users
Data model is an abstraction (cannot draw required data out of the data model)
Entity
Anything about which data are to be collected and stored
Attribute
Describes an association among entities
One-to-many (1:M) relationship
Many-to-many (M:N or M:M) relationship
One-to-one (1:1) relationship
Constraint
A restriction placed on the data
Business Rules
Descriptions of policies, procedures, or principles within a specific organization (apply to any organization that stores and used data to generate information); Description of operations to create/enforce actions within an organization’s environment (must be in writing and kept up to date;must be easy to understand and widely disseminated);describe characteristics of data as viewed by the company
Sources of Business Rules
Company managers Policy makers department managers Written documentation (procedures;standards; operations manuals) Direct interviews with end users
Importance of Documenting Business Rules
- Standardize company’s views of data
- Communications tool between users and designers
- Allow designer to understand the nature, role, and scope of data
- Allow designer to understand business processes
- Allow designer to understand business processes
- Allow designer to develop appropriate relationship participation rules and constraints
The Hierarchical Model
The hierarchical model was developed in the 1960s to manage large amounts of data for manufacturing projects
Basic logical structure is represented by an upside-down “tree” with levels or segments
Higher layer=parent
Lower layer=child
1:1, 1:M
Network Model
The network model was created to represent complex data relationships more effectively than the hierarchical model (improves database performance)
Network database=collection of records in 1:M and M:M relationships
Owner
Equivalent to the hierarchical model’s parent
Member
Equivalent to the hierarchical model’s child
Schema
Conceptual organization of entire database as viewed by the database administrator
Subschema
Database portion “seen” by the application programs
Data Management Language (DML)
Defines the environment in which data can be managed
Data Definition Language (DDL)
Enables the administrator to define the schema components
Disadvantages of the Network Model
Became too cumbersome for larger, more complex data sets
Lack of ad hoc query capability placed burden on programmers to generate code for reports
Structural change in the database could produce havoc in all application programs
Relational Database Management System (RDBMS)
Hides complexity from the user by managing all the physical details and allowing the user to work at the logical level
How the data is physically stored in the database is of no concern to the user or the designer
Relational table stores collection of related entities
Tables are related through common attributes
Relational Diagram
Representation of entities, attributes, and relationships
Entity Relationship Model
Graphical representation of entities and their relationships in a database structure
Entity is represented in ERD by a rectangle
Mapped to a relational type
Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD)
Uses graphic representations to model database components
Entity is mapped to a relational table
Chen Notation
Relationships are represented by a diamond with the relationship name written inside it
Connectivities written next to entity boxes
Crow’s Foot Notation
Connectivities represented by symbols