Lesson 4 Database Design Flashcards
binary relationship
An ER term for an association (relationship) between two entities.
For example, PROFESSOR teaches CLASS.
cardinality
- A property that assigns a specific value to connectivity
- expresses the range of allowed entity occurrences associated with a single occurrence of the related entity.
composite attribute
For example, a phone number such as 615-898-2368 may be divided into an area code (615), an exchange number (898), and a four-digit code (2368).
An attribute that can be further subdivided to yield additional attributes.
composite identifier
also known as a composite key
In ER modeling, a key composed of more than one attribute.
derived attribute
- An attribute that does not physically exist within the entity and is derived via an algorithm.
- For example, the YEARS_EMPLOYED attribute might be derived by subtracting the start date from the current date.
existence-dependent
- A property of an entity whose existence depends on one or more other entities.
- In such an environment, the existence-independent table must be created and loaded first, because the existence-dependent key cannot reference a table that does not yet exist.
existence-independent
- A property of an entity that can exist apart from one or more related entities.
- Such a table must be created first when referencing an existence-dependent table.
identifiers
One or more attributes (columns) that uniquely identify each entity instance.
also known as keys
iterative process
A process based on repetition of steps and procedures.
mandatory participation
A relationship in which one entity occurrence must have a corresponding occurrence in another entity.
- For example, an
EMPLOYEE
works in aDIVISION
. - A person cannot be an employee without being assigned to a company’s division.
multivalued attributes
An attribute that can have many values for a single entity occurrence.
- For example, an
EMP_DEGREE
attribute might store the string"BBA, MBA, PHD"
to indicate three different degrees held.
non-identifying relationship
A relationship in which the the child table’s primary key is independent of the parent table’s primary key.
optional attribute
In ER modeling, an attribute that does not require a value; therefore, it can be left empty.
optional participation
In ER modeling, a condition in which one entity occurrence does not require a corresponding entity occurrence in a particular relationship.
participants
- An ER term for entities that participate in a relationship.
- For example, in the relationship “PROFESSOR teaches CLASS,” the teaches relationship is based on the participants
PROFESSOR
andCLASS
.
recursive relationship
A relationship found within a single entity type.
- For example, an
EMPLOYEE
is married to anEMPLOYEE
or - A
PART
is a component of anotherPART
.
relational schema
The organization of a relational database as described by the database administrator.
relationship degree
- The number of entities or participants associated with a relationship.
- A relationship degree can be unary, binary, ternary, or higher.
required attribute
In ER modeling, an attribute that must have a value.
In other words, it cannot be left empty.
simple attribute
An attribute that cannot be subdivided into meaningful components.
Compared to composite attribute.
single-valued attribute
An attribute that can have only one value.
strong (identifying) relationship
- This relationship exists whenever the primary key of the related entity contains the primary key components of the parent entity.
- A relationship that occurs when two entities are existence-dependent.
strong entity
- An entity that is existence-independent.
- It can exist apart from all of its related entities.
Also called a regular entity.
ternary relationship
- An ER term used to describe an association (relationship) between three entities.
- For example, a DOCTOR prescribes a DRUG for a PATIENT.