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An Introduction to Relational Database Theory An Introduction to Relational Database Theory Hugh Darwen Download free books at Hugh Darwen An Introduction to Relational Database Theory Download free ebooks at bookboon.com 2 An Introduction to Relational Database Theory © 2010 Hugh Darwen & Ventus Publishing ApS ISBN 978-87-7681-500-4 This book is dedicated to the researchers at IBM United Kingdom’s Scientific Research Centre, Peterlee, UK, in the 1970s, who designed and implemented the relational database language, ISBL, that has been my guide ever since. Download free ebooks at bookboon.com 3 An Introduction to Relational Database Theory Contents Contents Preface 10 1. Introduction 14 1.1 Introduction 14 1.2 What Is a Database? 14 1.3 “Organized Collection of Symbols” 15 1.4 “To Be Interpreted as a True Account” 16 1.5 “Collection of Variables” 17 1.6 What Is a Relational Database? 18 1.7 “Relation” Not Equal to “Table” 19 1.8 Anatomy of a Relation 21 1.9 What Is a DBMS? 22 1.10 What Is a Database Language? 23 1.11 What Does a DBMS Do? 23 1.12 Creating and Destroying Variables 24 1.13 Taking Note of Integrity Rules 26 1.14 Taking Note of Authorisations 27 Bli med i NITO studentene og få: Jobbsøkerkurs Be`iijhb\ib\q>Qjbnºfi\_ Epmd_dnf]dno\i_ #a)`fnjh\m]`d_nfjiom\fo$ F\mmd`m`q`dg`_idib A\bgdb`i`ooq`mf Please click the advert Odgb\ibodg-+++]`_mdaonbmpkk`m G`nh`mjbh`g__`bdiikidoj)ij*nop_`io Download free ebooks at bookboon.com 4 An Introduction to Relational Database Theory Contents 1.15 Updating Variables 27 1.16 Providing Results of Queries 30 EXERCISE 32 2. Values, Types, Variables, Operators 33 2.1 Introduction 33 2.2 Anatomy of A Command 33 2.3 Important Distinctions 36 2.4 A Closer Look at a Read-Only Operator (+) 37 2.5 Read-only Operators in Tutorial D 37 2.6 What Is a Type? 40 2.7 What Is a Type Used For? 42 2.8 The Type of a Relation 42 2.9 Relation Literals 43 2.10 Types and Representations 47 2.11 What Is a Variable? 49 2.12 Updating a Variable 50 2.13 Conclusion 52 EXERCISES 54 Getting Started with Rel 55 Ren vannkraft siden 1898 Ny teknologi for å utnytte vannkraften maksimalt Norges største leverandør av fjernvarme Europas mest moderne driftssentral Norges største netteier Størst innen strømsalg VI ER PÅ ... Les mer på hafslund.no Please click the advert – ER DU? Nytenkning, kompetanse og muligheter gjør Hafslund til en spennende arbeidsplass. ` Gå inn på hafslund.no/jobb Download free ebooks at bookboon.com 5 An Introduction to Relational Database Theory Contents 3. Predicates and Propositions 63 3.1 Introduction 63 3.2 What Is a Predicate? 63 3.3 Substitution and Instantiation 68 3.4 How a Relation Represents an Extension 69 3.5 Deriving Predicates from Predicates 75 EXERCISES 84 4. Relational Algebra – The Foundation 85 4.1 Introduction 85 4.2 Relations and Predicates 88 4.3 Relational Operators and Logical Operators 89 4.4 JOIN and AND 90 4.5 RENAME 93 4.6 Projection and Existential Quantification 97 4.7 Restriction and AND 103 4.8 Extension and AND 106 4.9 UNION and OR 108 4.10 Semidifference and NOT 111 Please click the advert Er du student? Les mer her www.statnett.no/no/Jobb-og-karriere/Studenter Download free ebooks at bookboon.com 6 An Introduction to Relational Database Theory Contents 4.11 Concluding Remarks 114 EXERCISES 115 Working with a Database in Rel 117 5. Building on The Foundation 120 5.1 Introduction 120 5.2 Semijoin and Composition 121 5.3 Aggregate Operators 125 5.4 Relations within a Relation 129 5.5 Using Aggregate Operators with Nested Relations 131 5.6 SUMMARIZE 132 5.7 GROUP and UNGROUP 135 5.8 WRAP and UNWRAP 139 5.9 Relation Comparison 141 5.10 Other Operators on Relations and Tuples 146 EXERCISES 148 6. Constraints and Updating 150 6.1 Introduction 150 6.2 A Closer Look at Constraints and Consistency 151 Exploration and production in Norway Please click the advert Download free ebooks at bookboon.com 7 An Introduction to Relational Database Theory Contents 6.3 Expressing Constraint Conditions 152 6.4 Useful Shorthands for Expressing Constraints 159 6.5 Updating Relvars 165 EXERCISES 172 7. Database Design I: Projection-Join Normalization 173 7.1 Introduction 173 7.2 Avoiding Redundancy 173 7.3 Join Dependencies 175 7.4 Fifth Normal Form 183 7.5 Functional Dependencies 188 7.6 Keys 193 7.7 The Role of FDs and Keys in Optimization 194 7.8 Boyce-Codd Normal Form (BCNF) 195 7.9 JDs Not Arising from FDs 203 EXERCISES 208 8. Database Design II: Other Issues 211 8.1 Group-Ungroup and Wrap-Unwrap Normalization 211 ^ ^ Please click the advert ^ Download free ebooks at bookboon.com 8 An Introduction to Relational Database Theory Contents 8.2 Restriction-Union Normalization 217 8.3 Surrogate Keys 219 8.4 Representing “Entity Subtypes” 221 Appendix A: Tutorial D Version 2 224 Appendix B: References and Bibliography 228 Notes 230 Please click the advert Download free ebooks at bookboon.com 9 An Introduction to Relational Database Theory Preface Preface This book introduces you to the theory of relational databases, focusing on the application of that theory to the design of computer languages that properly embrace it. The book is intended for those studying relational databases as part of a degree course in Information Technology (IT). Relational database theory, originally proposed by Edgar F. Codd in 1969, is a topic in Computer Science. Codd’s seminal paper (1970) was entitled A Relational Model of Data for Large Shared Data Banks (reference [5] in Appendix B). An introductory course on relational databases offered by a university’s Computer Science (or similarly named) department is typically broadly divided into a theory component and what we might call an “industrial” component. The “industrial” component typically teaches the language, SQL (Structured Query Languagei), that is widely used in the industry for database purposes, and it might also teach other topics of current significance in the industry. Although this book is only about the theory, I hope it will be interesting and helpful to you even if your course’s main thrust is industrial. The book is directly based on a course of nine lectures delivered annually to undergraduates at the University of Warwick, England, as part of a 14-lecture module entitled Fundamentals of Relational Databases. The remaining five lectures of that module are on SQL. We encourage our students to compare and contrast SQL with what they have learned in the theory part. We explain that study of the theory, and an example of a computer language based on that theory, should: enable them to understand the technology that is based on it, and how to use that technology (even if it is only loosely based on the theory, as is the case with SQL systems); provide a basis for evaluating and criticizing the current state of the art; illustrate of some of the generally accepted principles of good computer language design; equip those who might be motivated in their future careers to bring about change for the better in the database industry. Examples and exercises in this book all use a language, Tutorial D, invented by the author and C.J. Date for the express purpose of teaching the subject matter at hand. Implementations of Tutorial D, which is described in reference [11], are available as free software on the Web. The one we use at the University of Warwick is called Rel, made by Dave Voorhis of the University of Derby. Rel is freely available at http://dbappbuilder.sourceforge.net/Rel.html. This book is accompanied by Exercises in Relational Database Theory, in which the exercises given at the end of each chapter (except the last) are copied and a few further exercises have been added. Sample solutions to all the exercises are provided and the reader is strongly recommended to study these solutions (preferably after attempting the exercises!). The book consists of eight chapters and two appendixes, as follows. Download free ebooks at bookboon.com 10 An Introduction to Relational Database Theory Preface Chapter 1, Introduction, is based on my first lecture and gives a broad overview of what a database is, what a relational database is, what a database management system (DBMS) is, what a DBMS is expected to do, and how a relational DBMS does those things. In Chapter 2, Values, Types, Variables, Operators, based on my second lecture, we look at the four fundamental concepts on which most computer languages are based. We acquire some useful terminology to help us talk about these concepts in a precise way, and we begin to see how the concepts apply to relational database languages in particular. Relational database theory is based very closely on logic. Fortunately, perhaps, in-depth knowledge and understanding of logic are not needed. Chapter 3, Predicates and Propositions, based on my third lecture, teaches just enough of that subject for our present purposes, without using too much formal notation. Chapter 4, Relational Algebra – The Foundation, based on material from lectures 4 and 5, describes the set of operators that is commonly accepted as forming a suitable basis for writing a special kind of expression that is used for various purposes in connection with a relational databasenotably, queries and constraints. Chapter 5, Building on The Foundation, describes additional operators that are defined in Tutorial D (lectures 5-6) to illustrate some of the additional kinds of things that are needed in a relational database language for practical purposes.
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