Fundamentals of Databases

Level 4

Introduction to Databases & Modelling

Lecture 1
Meg Soosay

1
Overview
 Introduction to the module
 What are databases, who uses them and

how are they developed

 Conceptual Analysis
 Data Modelling

◦ Entities
◦ Entity Relationship Diagrams
◦ Entity Descriptions

2
Module Aims
 To introduce you to the stages involved in the
development of database systems
◦ Analysis & Design - Data modelling
 Introduces the basic development processes used to
build a database
◦ Using ORACLE 19c
with Application Express (APEX 21.1.2 )

3
Learning Outcomes
1. Produce database models and design
for a complex set of user
requirements.

2. Appreciate the rationale for, and the

organisational context within which
databases are developed whilst
appreciating data protection issues.

3. Build a database system to meet the

requirements of a simple business
application.

4
Learning Methods
 Lectures – Vital as introduction to key topics
◦ Videos of the lectures will be available on MyBeckett
 Workbook - used in practical sessions
 4 Hours of self study per module per week
◦ MyBeckett – a range of additional activities e.g.
additional exercises, online quizzes, reading, practical
exercises, self assessment etc.
◦ All weekly tasks listed in workbook should be
completed before the following week’s practical
session.
 Module Handbook lists the weekly topics,
assessments, dates

5
Who uses Databases?
Who uses Databases - nearly
everyone?
 SOCIAL NETWORKS – Facebook, Twitter
 UNIVERSITY – student records, results
 BANKS – bank accounts, transactions
 POLICE – national computer, links to other
systems, international
 INLAND REVENUE – tax and payment records
 NHS – medical records, appointments, tests
 GOVERNMENT – council tax, electoral role
 BUSINESS large and small – accounts, payroll,
stock control, data warehousing, data mining,
auction sites, …

7
 Types of Databases
 Hierarchical Databases – represents data as hierarchical tree
structure starting at a single root to which all other data is
linked

 Network Databases – an extension of the hierarchical with

more than one single root organised with more
relationships between the data, so was faster

8
 Types of Databases
 Object-Oriented Databases – defined in
terms of objects, their properties and
their Hierarchical Model operations

 NoSQL Databases - very

efficient in analysing large size
unstructured data that may be
stored at multiple virtual
servers of the cloud.

9
 Types of Databases
 Relational Databases – data organised in two dimensional
tables with relationships maintained between tables

10
The Relational Database
Management System (RDBMS)
Jobs in Oracle (IT Jobs Watch
Nov 2022)
Database Design Stages
Analysis from a
Data driven
perspective

Conceptual Relational Databases output

Analysis Entity Relationship Diagrams

Logical
Design

Physical Implementation

13
Entity Relationship
Diagram
 Entities and their relationships shown as a

Model - CASE tools e.g. QSEE or SemanticPad

MUSICIAN EVENT

has
play s in

is made up of is av ailable f or

BAND is allocated to TIM ESLOT

play s in

14
Entities or more formally Entity
Types
◦ Entity (Type) - something the system needs to store data
about
◦ ‘An entity is a thing of interest to a system about which
data is kept’ (Lejk and Deeks, 2002)
◦ They can be:
 Tangible Objects
 Roles played
 Sites or Locations
 Organisational Units
 Events or Transactions
◦ Defined in the singular and named in uppercase
◦ Represented as a rectangle on Entity Relational Diagrams
◦ Entity Descriptions are also an important part of the data
dictionary
Attributes of Entities
 ‘An attribute is an item of data held about
an entity’ (Lejk and Deeks, 2002)
 Each entity has defined an attribute

structure
 For an entity BOOK, what attributes might

there be?
 What about an entity STUDENT?
 How do you know which BOOK or

STUDENT you are referring to?

Attributes of Entities
 ‘An attribute is an item of data held about
an entity’ (Lejk and Deeks, 2002)
 Each entity has defined an attribute

structure
 For an entity BOOK, what attributes might

there be?
 What about an entity STUDENT?
 How do you know which BOOK or

STUDENT you are referring to?

Need an Identifying Attribute!
Occurrences of Attributes
 Values for the attributes for a particular
instance of an entity
 The entity instance will have values for each

attribute, although some can be empty or NULL

 The entity instance will be uniquely identified

by identifying attribute
 For the STUDENT entity – the full student name

will be an occurrence
 For the entity BOOK – the actual title will be an

occurrence
Entities, Attributes and
Occurrences
Entity Type FOOTBALLER

Entity Description A registered player of football contracted to

play for their country

Entity Occurrence Harry Kane

Identifying Attribute FootballerId

Attributes surname, firstnames, DOB, placeofbirth

Attribute Values Kane, Harry Edward, 28/07/1993, Walthamstow

Entity Relationship
Diagram
 Entity (Type) something the system needs
to store data about
 Identify Candidate Entities (possible

entities)
 Ensure all 4 Tests of an entity type apply
Test one The object should be of importance in the
system being studied
Test two There should be data attributes that can be
associated with the entity
Test There should be more than one occurrence of
three this entity type
Test four It should not be an attribute of an entity

20
Identify Entity Types
Formula One example
There are 11 F1 Teams e.g. Mercedes,
McLaren, Ferrari, Williams etc. which engage
drivers to take part in the F1 World
Championship. Each F1 Team is based in
one country e.g. Williams and McLaren are
British, Mercedes is German etc. F1 Teams
contract drivers to race for them in the 20
races which take place each year.

21
Identify Candidate Entity
Types
Formula One example
There are 11 F1 Teams e.g. Mercedes,
McLaren, Ferrari, Williams etc. which engage
drivers to take part in the F1 World
Championship. Each F1 Team is based in
one country e.g. Williams and McLaren are
British, Mercedes is German etc. F1 Teams
contract drivers to race for them in the 20
races which take place each year.

22
Identify Candidate Entity
Types
Formula One example
There are 11 F1 Teams e.g. Mercedes,
McLaren, Ferrari, Williams etc. which engage
drivers to take part in the F1 World
Championship. Each F1 Team is based in
one country e.g. Williams and McLaren are
British, Mercedes is German etc. F1 Teams
contract drivers to race for them in the 20
races which take place each year.

23
Remove Candidate Entity Types
failing any of the 4 tests
Formula One example
There are 11 F1 Teams e.g. Mercedes, McLaren,
Ferrari, Williams etc. which engage drivers to take
part in the F1 World Championship. Each F1 Team
is based in one country e.g. Williams and McLaren
are British, Mercedes is German etc.. F1 Teams
contract drivers to race for them in the 20 races
which take place each year.

24
Remove Candidate Entity Types
failing any of the 4 tests
Formula One example
There are 11 F1 Teams e.g. Mercedes, McLaren,
Ferrari, Williams etc. which engage drivers to take
part in the F1 World Championship. Each F1 Team
is based in one country e.g. Williams and McLaren
are British, Mercedes is German etc.. F1 Teams
contract drivers to race for them in the 20 races
which take place each year.

25
Remove Candidate Entity Types
failing any of the 4 tests
Formula One example
There are 11 F1 Teams e.g. Mercedes, McLaren,
Ferrari, Williams etc. which engage drivers to take
part in the F1 World Championship. Each F1 Team
is based in one country e.g. Williams and McLaren
are British, Mercedes is German etc.. F1 Teams
contract drivers to race for them in the 20 races
which take place each year.

26
Identify Attributes
Formula One example
There are 11 F1 Teams e.g. Mercedes,
McLaren, Ferrari, Williams etc. which engage
drivers to take part in the F1 World
Championship. Each F1 Team is based in
one country e.g. Williams and McLaren are
British, Mercedes is German etc.. F1 Teams
contract drivers to race for them in the 20
races which take place each year.

27
Entity Type Definition
Entity Attributes Entity Description
Type
TEAM Teamname, Base, … A support team in the
Formula One
Championship
DRIVER Surname, Firstnames, A driver contracted to
country, … drive in the Formula One
Championship
RACE RaceNumber, raceyear, A date at an approved
racedate, … location at which the
Formula One
Championship takes place
Entity Type Definition - more
attributes
Entity Attributes Entity Description
Type
TEAM Teamname, FullTeamname, A support team in the
Base, FirstYear, Powerunit Formula One
Championship
DRIVER Surname, Firstnames, A driver contracted to
Dateofbirth, country, place drive in the Formula One
ofbirth Championship
RACE RaceNumber, trackname, A date at an approved
raceyear, racedate location at which the
Formula One
Championship takes place
 Entity Type Definition - more
attributes
Entity Attributes Entity Description
Type
TEAM Teamname, FullTeamname, A support team in the
Base, FirstYear, Powerunit Formula One
Championship
DRIVER Surname, Firstnames, A driver contracted to
Dateofbirth, country, place drive in the Formula One
ofbirth Championship
RACE RaceNumber, trackname, A date at an approved
raceyear, racedate location at which the
Formula One
Championship takes place

Identifying Attributes?
Entity Type Definition with
identifying attribute
Entity Attributes Entity Description
Type
TEAM Teamname, FullTeamname, A support team in the
Base, FirstYear, Powerunit Formula One
Championship
DRIVER Surname, Firstnames, A driver contracted to
Dateofbirth, country, place drive in the Formula One
ofbirth Championship
RACE RaceNumber, trackname, A date at an approved
raceyear, racedate location at which the
Formula One
Championship takes place
Review
 Introduction to the module – Assessment overview, dates
and times (in Module handbook), types
 What are databases, who uses them
 Database Design Stages – Conceptual Analysis, Logical
Analysis, Physical Implementation
 Conceptual Analysis - Entity Types, Candidate Entity
Types, 4 tests of Entity Types, Attributes, Entity
Descriptions, Identifying Attributes,
Occurrences, Attribute Values
 More Data Modelling next week – Relationships

 Don’t forget the weekly materials in MyBeckett