Building a Strong Foundation for Database Design

This chapter focuses on the fundamental concepts and principles of database design. It explains why it is crucial to have a solid foundation in database design before creating a database, and it also describes the steps involved in designing a database. The chapter defines key terms such as data, database, and database management system (DBMS). It then discusses the types of data models, such as hierarchical, network, relational, and object-oriented models. The relational model is the most widely used and is discussed in detail.

The chapter also covers the importance of identifying entities, attributes, and relationships in database design. It explains how to create an entity relationship (ER) diagram – a graphical representation of a database’s entities, attributes, and relationships. Normalization, which is the process of organizing data in a database to reduce redundancy and improve data integrity, is also covered...