DBMS Assignment: Database Design and Validation

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Database Management System (DBMS) Assignment

1. Explain Entity Modelling as used in DBMS

Entity modelling is a fundamental technique in database design that visually represents the data
requirements of a business or system. It serves as a blueprint for database development by
identifying:

• Key elements: The important entities (objects, concepts) about which data needs to be
stored

• Relationships: How these entities are connected to each other

• Attributes: The properties or characteristics of each entity

Entity modelling helps database designers to:

• Understand the data requirements clearly before implementation

• Communicate the database structure to stakeholders

• Identify potential problems early in the design process

• Ensure all necessary data is accounted for in the system

The process typically involves:

1. Identifying entities (like customers, products, orders)

2. Determining relationships between entities (a customer places an order)

3. Defining attributes for each entity (customer name, order date)

4. Establishing keys to uniquely identify records

2. State and Explain Components of Entity Modelling

The main components of entity modelling are:

 1. Entities: Real-world objects or concepts about which data is stored. Examples: Student,
Course, Employee. Entities are represented as rectangles in diagrams.

2. Attributes: Characteristics or properties of an entity. Examples: For a Student entity -

StudentID, Name, DateOfBirth. Attributes are shown as ovals connected to their entity.

3. Relationships: Associations between two or more entities. Examples: A Student "enrolls

in" a Course. Relationships are represented as diamonds connecting entities.

4. Cardinality: Specifies how many instances of one entity relate to another. Types include:

o One-to-One (1:1)

o One-to-Many (1:M)

o Many-to-Many (M:N)

5. Primary Key: An attribute or set of attributes that uniquely identifies an entity instance.
Example: StudentID for Student entity.

6. Foreign Key: An attribute in one table that references the primary key of another table
to establish a relationship.

7. Weak Entities: Entities that cannot be uniquely identified without reference to another
entity. Example: An OrderItem depends on an Order.

3. Design Entity Model Using Unified Modeling Language (UML), Use an Example

Here's a UML class diagram for a simple university database:

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+----------------+ +----------------+ +----------------+

| Student | | Course | | Enrollment |

+----------------+ +----------------+ +----------------+

| - studentID:PK | | - courseID:PK | | - enrollID:PK |

| - name:String | | - title:String | | - date:Date |

| - dob:Date | | - credits:Int | | - grade:Char |

| - email:String | +----------------+ +----------------+

+----------------+ ^ ^

^ | |

| | |

|1 * |1 * |1

+----------------+ +----------------+ +----------------+

| Department | | Professor | | Classroom |

+----------------+ +----------------+ +----------------+

| - deptID:PK | | - profID:PK | | - roomID:PK |

| - name:String | | - name:String | | - building:String |

| - location:String | | - specialty:String | | - capacity:Int |

+----------------+ +----------------+ +----------------+

Explanation:

• Student entity with attributes studentID (primary key), name, dob, email

• Course entity with courseID, title, credits

• Enrollment as the associative entity between Student and Course

• Department that offers courses

• Professor who teaches courses

• Classroom where courses are held

Relationships:

• A Department offers many Courses (1:M)

• A Professor teaches many Courses (1:M)

• A Student enrolls in many Courses, and a Course has many Students (M:N) through
Enrollment

• A Course is assigned to one Classroom (1:1)

4. State and Explain the Role of at Least 5 Key Players in DBMS

1. Database Administrator (DBA):

 o Responsible for installation, configuration, and maintenance of DBMS

o Manages database security, user access, and permissions

o Performs backup and recovery operations

o Monitors and optimizes database performance

o Plans for database growth and capacity

2. Database Designer:

o Creates conceptual, logical, and physical database designs

o Defines tables, relationships, constraints, and indexes

o Works with stakeholders to understand data requirements

o Ensures database design follows normalization principles

o Documents the database structure

3. Application Developer:

o Writes programs that interact with the database

o Implements data access layers in applications

o Creates forms and reports that use database data

o Optimizes queries for better performance

o Implements business logic that works with database

4. End Users:

o Casual users who interact with database through applications

o Sophisticated users who write their own queries

o Standalone users who work with personal databases

o Provide requirements and feedback about database functionality

5. Data Analyst:

o Extracts meaningful information from database

o Creates reports and visualizations based on data

o Identifies trends and patterns in data

 o Supports decision-making with data insights

o May design and maintain data warehouses

5. Explain Importance of Normalization

Normalization is the process of organizing data in a database to reduce redundancy and

improve data integrity. Its importance includes:

1. Minimizes Data Redundancy:

o Eliminates duplicate data by storing each fact only once

o Reduces storage requirements

o Makes updates easier (change data in one place only)

2. Prevents Update Anomalies:

o Update anomalies occur when same data stored in multiple places becomes
inconsistent

o Insert anomalies happen when you can't add data because other required data is
missing

o Delete anomalies occur when deleting data unintentionally removes other

information

3. Improves Data Integrity:

o Ensures relationships between tables are properly maintained

o Foreign key constraints enforce referential integrity

o Domain constraints ensure data meets defined criteria

4. Simplifies Database Structure:

o Makes the database design more logical and understandable

o Tables have single, well-defined purposes

o Easier to modify and extend the database structure

5. Enhances Query Performance:

o Properly normalized tables typically perform better for complex queries

o Optimizer can create more efficient execution plans

 o Smaller tables with focused content are faster to search

6. Facilitates Database Maintenance:

o Changes to data structure are easier to implement

o Less risk of breaking applications when modifying the database

o Easier to document and understand the database design

6. Explain the Properties of a Well-Formed Relation/Table in RDBMS

A well-formed relation (table) in a relational database management system (RDBMS) has these
properties:

1. Unique Name: Each table must have a distinct name within its schema.

2. No Duplicate Rows: Every row must be unique, ensured by a primary key.

3. Atomic Values: Each cell contains a single, indivisible value (first normal form).

4. No Repeating Groups: There should be no arrays or lists in a single field.

5. Column Homogeneity: All values in a column must be of the same data type.

6. Unique Column Names: Each column in a table must have a distinct name.

7. No Implied Ordering: Rows have no inherent order; order is imposed when queried.

8. Primary Key: Every table should have a column or set of columns that uniquely identifies
each row.

9. Foreign Keys: Columns that reference primary keys in other tables must properly
maintain referential integrity.

10. Proper Normalization: The table should be normalized to at least third normal form
(3NF) to minimize redundancy.

11. Meaningful Column Names: Names should clearly indicate the data they contain.

12. Appropriate Data Types: Each column should use the most appropriate data type for its
content.

13. Constraints: Appropriate constraints (NOT NULL, CHECK, etc.) should be defined to
maintain data quality.

7. Differentiate Between Primary Key and Foreign Key

Feature Primary Key Foreign Key

Uniquely identifies each Links two tables by referencing the

Definition
record in a table primary key of another table

Uniqueness Must contain unique values Can contain duplicate values

Null Values Cannot contain NULL values Can contain NULL values

Number per Only one primary key

Multiple foreign keys allowed
Table allowed

Purpose To uniquely identify records To maintain relationships between tables

Automatically creates
Indexing May create non-clustered index
clustered index

courseID in Enrollment table that

Example studentID in Student table
references Course table

Constraint PRIMARY KEY constraint FOREIGN KEY constraint

Rarely changed once

Modification Can be changed more freely
assigned

Dependency Independent identifier Depends on a primary key in another table

8. Explain Database Models with Diagrams and Advantages

i. Hierarchical Database Model

Diagram:

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Department

/ \

Course Professor

/ \

Student Classroom

Advantages:

• Simple structure for 1:M relationships

• Fast access for hierarchical data (e.g., organizational charts)

• Clear parent-child relationships

• Efficient for certain types of queries (navigating up/down hierarchy)

• Good performance for predefined data access paths

ii. Network Database Model

Diagram:

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Student ------> Course

\ /

\ /

<Enrollment>

Advantages:

• Handles complex M:N relationships well

• More flexible than hierarchical model

• Efficient data access through multiple paths

• Better at representing real-world complex relationships

 • Reduced data redundancy compared to hierarchical

iii. Relational Database Model

Diagram:

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[Students] ---- [Enrollments] ---- [Courses]

| |

[Departments] [Professors]

Advantages:

• Simple, tabular structure easy to understand

• Flexible querying with SQL

• Strong theoretical foundation

• Excellent data integrity features

• Scales well for most business applications

• Most widely used and supported model

iv. Object-Oriented Database Model

Diagram:

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+----------------------+

| Student |

+----------------------+

| - studentID: String |

| - name: String |
| - courses: List<Course> |

| + enroll(): void |

| + gpa(): float |

+----------------------+

+----------------------+

| Course |

+----------------------+

| - courseID: String |

| - title: String |

| + addStudent(): void |

+----------------------+

Advantages:

• Stores complex objects directly (no impedance mismatch)

• Good for complex data types (images, spatial data)

• Supports inheritance and polymorphism

• Better performance for certain object-oriented applications

• Tight integration with object-oriented programming languages

9. Explain Validation Model Based on CRUD Matrix with Example

A CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) matrix is a validation tool that maps system operations
to data entities to ensure complete coverage of requirements.

Example CRUD Matrix for Library System:

Operation Book Member Loan Reservation Fine

Add Book C
Operation Book Member Loan Reservation Fine

Search Book R

Register Member C

Check Out Book R R C

Return Book U C

Reserve Book R R C

Pay Fine U

Update Member Details U

Validation Process:

1. Completeness Check:

o Verify every entity has at least one C, R, U, D operation

o Example: If "Fine" had no operations, we'd identify missing functionality

2. Authorization Check:

o Ensure sensitive operations have proper access controls

o Example: Only librarians should be able to create books

3. Business Rule Validation:

o Verify operations follow business rules

o Example: Members can't check out books if they have unpaid fines

4. Process Flow Validation:

o Check logical sequence of operations

o Example: Can't return a book that wasn't checked out

 5. User Interface Validation:

o Ensure all operations have corresponding UI screens

o Example: If there's a "Pay Fine" operation, there must be a payment screen

Advantages of CRUD Matrix Validation:

• Identifies missing or superfluous functionality

• Helps discover authorization requirements

• Verifies all data entities are properly managed

• Provides traceability between operations and data

• Serves as a communication tool between developers and stakeholders

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