CFR3113

Fact-based information modelling and relational database design

P Steele

6 points - 4 hours per week - Second, summer semester - Peninsula - Prerequisites: CFR1123 or CFR1252 or CFR1306 or equivalent

Objectives At the completion of this subject students should understand the fact-based approach to information modelling and be able to use it successfully in a variety of situations; understand how to transform fact-based information models to relational models and be able to perform this transformation successfully; and understand the differences between the entity relationship approach and the fact-based approach to information modelling.
Synopsis Information systems and the conceptual schema. Conceptual, external and internal levels. The fact-based approach to information modelling. Specifying fact types and adding constraints such as uniqueness, mandatory roles, values, subtyping, occurrence frequencies, subset, equality, exclusion, logical and user-defined constraints. Derivation rules. The relational model of data. Domains, attributes, relations, candidate, primary and foreign keys. Entity, referential and user-defined integrity. Mapping fact-based conceptual schemas to relational schemas with particular emphasis on constraint implementation through database triggers, rules and procedures. Equivalence transformations on conceptual schemas and optimisation strategies. Comparison of fact-based models to entity relationship models.

Assessment Examination (3 hours): 50% - Practical work: 50%

Prescribed texts

Halpin T A Conceptual schema and relational database design 2nd edn, Prentice-Hall, 1995

Recommended texts

Barker R CASE*method: Entity relationship modelling Addison-Wesley, 1990
Simpson G Data modelling essentials: Analysis, design and innovation Van Nostrand, 1994

Back to the 1999 Information Technology Handbooks