Unit -1
CONCEPTUAL DATA MODELING
Database environment – Database system
development lifecycle –Requirements collection –
Database design - Entity-Relationship model –
Enhanced-ER model – UML class diagrams.
• The Entity Relational Model is a model for identifying entities
to be represented in the database and representation of how
those entities are related.
• ER model stands for an Entity-Relationship model. It is a
high-level data model. This model is used to define the data
elements and relationship for a specified system.
• The Entity Relationship Diagram explains the relationship
among the entities present in the database.
Why Use ER Diagrams In DBMS?
• ER diagrams are used to represent the E-R model in a
database, which makes them easy to be converted into
relations (tables).
• ER diagrams provide the purpose of real-world modeling of
objects which makes them intently useful.
• ER diagrams require no technical knowledge and no hardware
support.
• These diagrams are very easy to understand and easy to create
even for a naive user.
• It gives a standard solution for visualizing the data logically.
Symbols Used in ER Model
ER Model is used to model the logical view of the system from a
data perspective which consists of these symbols:
• Rectangles: Rectangles represent Entities in the ER Model.
• Ellipses: Ellipses represent Attributes in the ER Model.
• Diamond: Diamonds represent Relationships among Entities.
• Lines: Lines represent attributes to entities and entity sets with
other relationship types.
• Double Ellipse: Double Ellipses represent
Multi-Valued Attributes.
• Double Rectangle: Double Rectangle represents a Weak
Entity.
Components of ER Diagram
• ER Model consists of Entities, Attributes, and Relationships
among Entities in a Database System.
Entity:
• An Entity may be an object with a physical existence
– a particular person, car, house, or employee – or it
may be an object with a conceptual existence – a
company, a job, or a university course.
• Entity Set: An Entity is an object of Entity Type and
a set of all entities is called an entity set.
i) Strong Entity: A Strong Entity is a type of entity that
has a key Attribute. Strong Entity does not depend on
other Entity in the Schema.
It has a primary key, that helps in identifying it
uniquely, and it is represented by a rectangle. These are
called Strong Entity Types.
ii)Weak Entity:
• An Entity type has a key attribute that uniquely
identifies each entity in the entity set. But some entity
type exists for which key attributes can’t be defined.
These are called Weak Entity types.
Ex: Employee- strong, Dependent- Weak
2. Attribute
• The attribute is used to describe the property of an
entity. Eclipse is used to represent an attribute.
• For example, id, age, contact number, name, etc. can
be attributes of a student.
a. Key Attribute
• The key attribute is used to represent
the main characteristics of an entity.
It represents a primary key. The key
attribute is represented by an ellipse
with the text underlined.
b. Composite Attribute
• An attribute that composed of many other attributes is
known as a composite attribute. The composite
attribute is represented by an ellipse, and those
ellipses are connected with an ellipse.
c. Multivalued Attribute:
• An attribute can have more than one value. These
attributes are known as a multivalued attribute. The
double oval is used to represent multivalued attribute.
• For example, a student can have more than one phone
number.
d. Derived Attribute
• An attribute that can be derived from other attribute is
known as a derived attribute. It can be represented by
a dashed ellipse.
• For example, A person's age changes over time and
can be derived from another attribute like Date of
birth.
3. Relationship
• A relationship is used to describe the relation
between entities. Diamond or rhombus is used
to represent the relationship.
a. One-to-One Relationship
• When only one instance of an entity is associated
with the relationship, then it is known as one to one
relationship.
• For example, A female can marry to one male, and a
male can marry to one female.
b. One-to-many relationship
• When a single element of an entity is associated with
more than one element of another entity, it is called a
one-to-many relationship
• For example, a customer can place many orders, but
an order cannot be placed by many customers.
[Link]-to-One Relationship:
• When more than one element of an entity is related to
a single element of another entity, then it is called a
many-to-one relationship.
• For example, students have to opt for a single course,
but a course can have many students.
[Link]-to-Many Relationship:
• When more than one element of an entity is
associated with more than one element of
another entity, this is called a many-to-many
relationship.
• For example, you can assign an employee to
many projects and a project can have many
employees.
