Information Modeling and Relational Databases

Inside, ORM authority Terry Halpin blends conceptual information with practical instruction that will let you begin using ORM effectively as soon as possible. Supported by examples, exercises, and useful background information, his step-by-step approach teaches you to develop a natural-language-based ORM model and then, where needed, abstract ER and UML models from it. This book will quickly make you proficient in the modeling technique that is proving vital to the development of accurate and efficient databases that best meet real business objectives.

Features

• The most in-depth coverage of Object Role Modeling available anywhere-written by a pioneer in the development of ORM.
• Provides additional coverage of Entity Relationship (ER) modeling and the Unified Modeling Language-all from an ORM perspective.
• Intended for anyone with a stake in the accuracy and efficacy of databases: systems analysts, information modelers, database designers and administrators, instructors, managers, and programmers.
• Explains and illustrates required concepts from mathematics and set theory.
• Via a companion Web site, provides answers to exercises, appendices covering the history of computer generations, subtype matrices, and advanced SQL queries, and links to downloadable ORM tools.

Industrial foreword
Academic foreword
Preface
1 Introduction
1.1 Information modeling
1.2 Modeling approaches
1.3 Some historical background
1.4 The relevant skills
1.5 Summary
2 Information levels and frameworks
2.1 Four information levels
2.2 The conceptual level
2.3 From external to conceptual to relational
2.4 Development frameworks
2.5 Summary
3 Conceptual modeling: first steps
3.1 Conceptual modeling language criteria
3.2 ORM's conceptual schema design procedure
3.3 CSDP step 1: from examples to elementary facts
3.4 CSDP step 2: draw fact types, and populate
3.5 CSDP step 3: trim schema; note basic derivations
3.6 Summary
4 Uniqueness constraints
4.1 CSDP step 4: uniqueness constraints; rarity check
4.2 Uniqueness constraints on unaries and binaries
4.3 Uniqueness constraints on longer fact types
4.4 External uniqueness constraints
4.5 Key length check
4.6 Projection-join check
4.7 Summary
5 Mandatory roles
5.1 Introduction to CSDP step 5
5.2 Mandatory and optional roles
5.3 Logical derivation check
5.4 Reference schemes
5.5 Case study: a compact disk retailer
5.6 Summary
6 Value, set comparison and subtype constraints
6.1 CSDP step 6: value, set and subtype constraints
6.2 Basic set theory
6.3 Value constraints and independent objects
6.4 Subset, equality and exclusion constraints
6.5 Subtyping
6.6 Generalization of object types
6.7 Summary
7 Other constraints and final checks
7.1 CSDP step 7: other constraints; final checks
7.2 Occurrence frequencies
7.3 Ring constraints
7.4 Other constraints
7.5 Final checks
7.6 Summary
8 Entity relationship modeling
8.1 Overview of ER
8.2 Barker notation
8.3 Information Engineering notation
8.4 IDEF1X
8.5 Mapping from ORM to ER
8.6 Summary
9 Data modeling in UML
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Object reference and single-valued attributes
9.3 Multi-valued attributes
9.4 Associations
9.5 Set comparison constraints
9.6 Subtyping
9.7 Other constraints and derivation rules
9.8 Mapping from ORM to UML
9.9 Summary
10 Relational mapping
10.1 Implementing a conceptual schema
10.2 Relational schemas
10.3 Relational mapping procedure
10.4 Advanced mapping aspects
10.5 Summary
11 Relational languages
11.1 Relational algebra
11.2 Relational database systems
11.3 SQL: historical and structural overview
11.4 SQL: identifiers and data types
11.5 SQL: choosing columns, rows and order
11.6 SQL: joins
11.7 SQL: in, between, like and null operators
11.8 SQL: union and simple subqueries
11.9 SQL: scalar operators and bag functions
11.10 SQL: grouping
11.11 SQL: correlated and existential subqueries
11.12 SQL: data definition
11.13 SQL: updating table populations
11.14 SQL: security and meta-data
11.15 Summary
12 Schema transformations
12.1 Schema equivalence and optimization
12.2 Predicate specialization and generalization
12.3 Nesting, co-referencing and flattening
12.4 Other conceptual transformations
12.5 Conceptual schema optimization
12.6 Normalization
12.7 Denormalization and low level optimization
12.8 Re-engineering
12.9 Summary
13 Other modeling aspects and trends
13.1 Introduction
13.2 Data warehousing and OLAP
13.3 Conceptual query languages
13.4 Schema abstraction mechanisms
13.5 Process modeling and external design
13.6 Post-relational databases and other trends
13.7 Meta-modeling
13.8 Summary
Answers
Bibliography
ORM glossary
ER glossary
UML glossary
Index