Course Content

• Introduction to Logical Data Modeling
  • Definitions
  • Benefits of logical data modeling
  • Data modeling vs. physical database design
  • Roles involved in data modeling
  • Steps in the data modeling process
  • Example data model
• Entities
  • Identifying entities
  • Validating entities
  • Documenting "instances" of entities
  • Distinguishing entities from attributes
  • Naming entities
  • Starting an Entity/Relationship (E/R) diagram
• Relationships
  • Identifying significant relationships
  • Determining the "cardinality" or "degree" of a relationship
  • One-to-One
  • One-to-Many
  • Many-to-Many
  • Determining whether a relationship is optional or mandatory
  • Giving a relationship a name
  • Documenting the relationships in the E/R diagram
  • Walking people through an E/R diagram
  • Resolving Many-to-Many Relationships
  • Real-world examples of many-to-many relationships
  • Why many-to-many relationships are broken down into simpler relationships
  • Identifying "association" or "intersection" entities
  • Documenting the new relationships in the E/R diagram
• Attributes and Normalization
  • Defining and categorizing attributes
  • Domains and integrity rules
  • Unique identifiers/primary keys
  • Foreign keys
  • Occurrence population
  • Normalization: validating the placement of each attribute
  • Attribute does not repeat (first normal form)
  • Attribute is dependent on its entire UID (second normal form)
  • Attribute is dependent only on its UID (third normal form)
• Subtypes and Supertypes
  • Identifying subtypes: real-world examples of subtypes and supertypes
  • Determining when entities are similar
  • UIDs
  • Attributes
  • One-to-one relationships
  • Creating subtypes and supertypes
  • "Type" entities
  • Using subtypes to apply fourth normal form
  • Establishing the relationships of the sub- and super-entities to other entities
  • Mutually exclusive vs. non-mutually exclusive subtypes
  • "Role" entities to handle complex subtypes
• Recursive Relationships
  • Real-world examples of recursive relationships
  • Discovering recursive relationships
  • Determining whether the relationships are optional or mandatory
  • Documenting the new relationships in the E/R diagram
  • Hierarchical vs. Network recursive relationships
  • "Structure" or "Bill of Materials" entities: fifth normal form
• Implementing a Relational Database
  • Relational database objects: tables, views, indexes, etc.
  • Mapping logical objects to physical objects
  • Denormalization
    • Why
    • How
    • Pros/Cons
  • Distributing databases
  • Referential integrity