CSC311 : Database Systems

Chap 3: Relational Model

Lecture Contents:
„ Basic Structure of Relational Database
„ Relational Schema Diagram
„ Six basic relational query operators
„ Additional relational query operators
„ Generalized Project
„ Database Modification operators
„ Aggregate Functions
„ View Definitions

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 Basic Structure
„ A relational database consists of a collection of tables, each of
which is assigned a unique name.
„ A row(or tuple) in a table represents a relationship among a set of values.
„ Formally, given sets D1, D2, …. Dn a relation r is a subset of
D1 x D2 x … x Dn
Thus a relation is a set of n-tuples (a1, a2, …, an) where
ai ∈ Di
„ Example: if
customer-name = {Jones, Smith, Curry, Lindsay}
customer-street = {Main, North, Park}
customer-city = {Harrison, Rye, Pittsfield}
Then r = { (Jones, Main, Harrison),
(Smith, North, Rye),
(Curry, North, Rye),
(Lindsay, Park, Pittsfield)} 2
is a relation over customer-name x customer-street x customer-city
Relation Schema
„ A1, A2, …, An are attributes
„ R = (A1, A2, …, An ) is a relation schema
E.g.:

Customer-schema = (customer-name, customer-street,

customer-city)
„ r(R) is a relation on the relation schema R
E.g. customer (Customer-schema)

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Relation Instance
„ The current values (relation instance) of a
relation are specified by a table
„ An element t of r is a tuple, represented by a
row in a table
attributes

customer-name customer-street customer-city

Jones Main Harrison

Smith North Rye tuples
Curry North Rye
Lindsay Park Pittsfield

customer 4
 Relations are Unordered
„ Order of tuples is irrelevant (tuples may be
stored in an arbitrary order)
„ E.g. account relation with unordered tuples

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Schema for the Bank Enterprise

branch= (branch-name, branch-city, assets)

customer= (customer-name, customer-street, cust-city)

account=(account-number, branch-name, balance)

loan= (loan-number, branch-name, amount)

depositor=(customer-name, account-number)

borrower=(customer-name, loan-number)
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 Relational Algebra
„ The relational algebra is a Procedural query language
„ Six basic operators
„ select
„ project
„ union
„ set difference
„ cartesian product
„ rename
„ The operators take two or more relations as inputs and give a
new relation as a result.
„ In addition to the fundamental operations, there are several
other operations. E.g, set intersection, natural join, division, 7
assignment.
 Select Operation
„ Notation: σ p(r)
„ p is called the selection predicate
„ Greek letter Sigma (σ ) for select operation
„ Defined as:
σp(r) = {t | t ∈ r and p(t)}
Where p is a formula in propositional calculus consisting
of terms connected by : ∧ (and), ∨ (or), ¬ (not)
Each term is one of:
<attribute>op <attribute> or <constant>
where op is one of: =, ≠, >, ≥. <. ≤
„ Example of selection:
σ branch-name=“Perryridge”(account) 8
 Select Operation – Example
• Relation r A B C D

α α 1 7
α β 5 7
β β 12 3
β β 23 10

• σA=B Λ D > 5 (r) A B C D

α α 1 7
β β 23 10
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 Project Operation – Example
„ Relation r: A B C

α 10 1
α 20 1
β 30 1
β 40 2

„ ∏A,C (r) A C A C

α 1 α 1
α 1 = β 1
β 1 β 2
β 2 10
 Project Operation
„ Notation:
∏A1, A2, …, Ak (r)
where A1, A2 are attribute names and r is a relation name.
„ The result is defined as the relation of k columns obtained
by erasing the columns that are not listed
„ Duplicate rows removed from result, since relations are
sets
„ E.g. To eliminate the branch-name attribute of account

∏account-number, balance (account)

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 Union Operation
„ Notation: r ∪ s
„ Defined as:
r ∪ s = {t | t ∈ r or t ∈ s}
„ For r ∪ s to be valid:
1) r, s must have the same arity (same number of attributes)
2) The attribute domains must be compatible (e.g., 2nd
column of r deals with the same type of values as does
the 2nd column of s)

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 Union Operation – Example
„ Relations r, s:
A B A B r ∪ s: A B

α 1 α 2 α 1
r s
α 2 β 3 α 2
β 1 β 1
β 3
„ E.g. to find all customers with either an account or a loan,
or both

∏customer-name (depositor) ∪ ∏customer-name(borrower)

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 Set Difference Operation – Example

„ Relations r, s: A B A B

α 1 α 2
α 2 β 3
β 1 s
r

r – s: A B

α 1
β 1

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 Set Difference Operation
„ Notation r – s
„ Defined as:
r – s = {t | t ∈ r and t ∉ s}

„ Set differences must be taken between

compatible relations.
„ r and s must have the same number of attributes
„ attribute domains of r and s must be compatible

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 Cartesian-Product Operation-Example

Relations r, s: A B C D E

α 1 α 10 a
β 10 a
β 2
β 20 b
r γ 10 b
s

r x s: A B C D E
α 1 α 10 a
α 1 β 10 a
α 1 β 20 b
α 1 γ 10 b
β 2 α 10 a
β 2 β 10 a
β 2 β 20 b
β γ
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2 10 b
 Cartesian-Product Operation
„ Notation r x s
„ Defined as:
r x s = {t q | t ∈ r and q ∈ s}

„ Assume that attributes of r(R) and s(S) are

disjoint. (That is, R ∩ S = ∅).
„ If attributes of r(R) and s(S) are not disjoint, then
renaming must be used.

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 Composition of Operations
„ Can build expressions using multiple operations
„ Example: σA =C(r x s) A B C D E
„ rxs α 1 α 10 a
α 1 β 10 a
α 1 β 20 b
α 1 γ 10 b
β 2 α 10 a
β 2 β 10 a
β 2 β 20 b
β 2 γ 10 b

„ σA =C(r x s) A B C D E

α 1 α 10 a
β 2 β 20 a
β 2 β 20 b 18
 Rename Operation
„ Allows us to name, and therefore to refer to, the results of
relational-algebra expressions.
„ Denoted by Greek letter rho ( ρ)
„ Allows us to refer to a relation by more than one name.
„ Example:
ρ x (E)
„ returns the expression E under the name X
„ If a relational-algebra expression E has arity n, then
ρx (A1, A2, …, An) (E)
„ returns the result of expression E under the name X, and
with the attributes renamed to A1, A2, …., An.
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 Schema for the Bank Enterprise

branch= (branch-name, branch-city, assets)

customer= (customer-name, customer-street, cust-city)

account=(account-number, branch-name, balance)

loan= (loan-number, branch-name, amount)

depositor=(customer-name, account-number)

borrower=(customer-name, loan-number)
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 Example Queries
„ Find all loans of over $1200
σamount> 1200 (loan)

„ Find the loan number for each loan of an amount greater

than $1200
∏loan-number (σamount > 1200 (loan))

„ Find the names of those customers who live in Harrison

∏customer-name (σcustomer-city = “Harrison” (customer))

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 Example Queries
„ Find the names of all customers who have a loan at the Perryridge
branch.
∏customer-name (σbranch-name=“Perryridge”
(σborrower.loan-number = loan.loan-number(borrower x loan)))

„ Find the names of all customers who have a loan at the Perryridge
branch but do not have an account at any branch of the bank.
∏customer-name (σbranch-name = “Perryridge”

(σborrower.loan-number = loan.loan-number(borrower x loan)))

– ∏customer-name(depositor)
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Example Queries
„ Find the largest account balance in the bank
„ First, compute a temporary relation consisting of
those balances that are not the largest and then
take set difference.
„ Rename account relation as d

„ The query is:

∏balance(account) - ∏account.balance
(σaccount.balance < d.balance (account x ρd(account)))

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Example Queries
account account x ρd (account)
Ac Br Bl Ac Br Bl dAc dBr dBl
5 D 10 5 D 10 5 D 10
6 C 20 5 D 10 6 C 20
7 S 30 5 D 10 7 S 30
6 C 20 5 D 10
ρd (account) 6 C 20 6 C 20
6 C 20 7 S 30
dAc dBr dBl 7 S 30 5 D 10
5 D 10 7 S 30 6 C 20
6 C 20 7 S 30 7 S 30
7 S 30

Bl Bl Bl
10 _ 10
20 30
20
30 24
 Additional Operations
„ We define additional operations that do
not add any power to the relational
algebra, but that simplify common queries.
„ Set intersection
„ Natural join
„ Division
„ Assignment

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Set-Intersection Operation
„ Notation: r ∩ s
„ Defined as:
„ r ∩ s ={ t | t ∈ r and t ∈ s }
„ Assume:
„ r,s have the same number of attributes
„ attributes of r and s are compatible
„ Note: r ∩ s = r - (r - s)

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Set-Intersection Operation - Example

„ Relation r, s: A B A B
α 1 α 2
α 2 β 3
β 1

r s

A B

„r∩s α 2

„ Find the names of all customers who have a loan and an

account at bank.
∏customer-name (borrower) ∩ ∏customer-name (depositor)
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 Natural-Join Operation
„ Notation: r s
„ Let r and s be relations on schemas R and S respectively.The
result is a relation on schema R ∪ S which is obtained by
considering each pair of tuples tr from r and ts from s.
„ If tr and ts have the same value on each of the attributes in R ∩ S,
a tuple t is added to the result, where
„ t has the same value as t on r
r
„t has the same value as ts on s
„ Example:
R = (A, B, C, D)
S = (E, B, D)
„ Result schema = (A, B, C, D, E)
„ r s is defined as:
∏r.A, r.B, r.C, r.D, s.E (σr.B = s.B ^ r.D = s.D (r x s))
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 Natural Join Operation – Example
„ Relations r, s:
A B C D B D E

α 1 α a 1 a α
β 2 γ a 3 a β
γ 4 β b 1 a γ
α 1 γ a 2 b δ
δ 2 β b 3 b ∈
r s

r s A B C D E
α 1 α a α
α 1 α a γ
α 1 γ a α
α 1 γ a γ
δ 2 β b δ 29
Division Operation
„ Notation: r ÷ s
„ Suited to queries that include the phrase “for all”.
„ Find all customers who have an account at all the
branches located in Brooklyn.
„ Let r and s be relations on schemas R and S
respectively where
„ R = (A1, …, Am, B1, …, Bn)
„ S = (B1, …, Bn)
The result of r ÷ s is a relation on schema

R – S = (A1, …, Am) and tuples:

r ÷ s = { t | t ∈ ∏ R-S(r) ∧ ∀ u ∈ s ( t u ∈ r ) }
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 Division Operation – Example
Relations r, s: A B B
α 1 1
α 2
α 3 2
β 1 s
γ 1
δ 1
δ 3
δ 4
∈ 6 r ÷ s: A
∈ 1
β 2 α
r β
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Another Division Example
Relations r, s:
A B C D E D E

α a α a 1 a 1
α a γ a 1 b 1
α a γ b 1 s
β a γ a 1
β a γ b 3
γ a γ a 1
γ a γ b 1
γ a β b 1
r

r ÷ s: A B C

α a γ
γ a γ
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 Assignment Operation
„ The assignment operation (←) provides a convenient
way to express complex queries, write query as a
sequential program consisting of a series of
assignments followed by an expression whose value
is displayed as a result of the query.
„ Assignment must always be made to a temporary
relation variable.
„ Example: Select all loan records with amount in the
range of 0 to 50
l1 ← σ amount ≥ 0 and amount ≤ 50 (loan)
„ The result to the right of the ← is assigned to the relation
variable on the left of the ←.
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„ May use variable in subsequent expressions.
Example Query
1. Find all customer name who have an account from at
least the “Downtown” and the “Redwood” branches.
Query 1:

∏CN(σBN=“Downtown”(depositor account)) ∩
∏CN(σBN=“Redwood”(depositor account))

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 Example Queries
„ Find all customers who have an account from at least the
“Downtown” and the “Uptown” branches.

„ Query 2:

∏customer-name, branch-name (depositor account)

÷ ρtemp(branch-name) ({(“Downtown”), (“Uptown”)})

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 Example Queries
2. Find all customer name who have an account at
all branches located in Brooklyn city.
„ Query is:

∏customer-name, branch-name (depositor account)

÷ ∏branch-name (σbranch-city = “Brooklyn” (branch))

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 Extended Relational-Algebra-Operations
„ The basic relational algebra has been
extended in several ways.
„ A simple extension is to allow arithmetic
operations in the projection operation,
arithmetic operation in a specific attribute
etc.
„ GeneralizedProjection
„ Aggregate Functions
„ Outer Join 37
 Generalized Projection
„ Extends the projection operation by allowing arithmetic
functions to be used in the projection list.
∏ F1, F2, …, Fn(E), E is any relational-algebra expression

„ Each of F1, F2, …, Fn are arithmetic expressions involving

constants and attributes in the schema of E.
„ Given relation:
credit-info(customer-name, limit, credit-balance)
„ Find how much more each person can spend:
∏customer-name, limit – credit-balance (credit-info)
∏customer-name, (limit – credit-balance) as credit-available (credit-info)
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Aggregate Functions and Operations
„ Aggregation function takes a collection of values and returns a
single value as a result.
avg: average value
min: minimum value
max: maximum value
sum: sum of values
count: number of values
„ Aggregate operation in relational algebra

G1, G2, …, Gn g F1( A1), F2( A2),…, Fn( An) (E)

„ E is any relational-algebra expression
„ G1, G2 …, Gn is a list of attributes on which to group (can be
empty)
„ Each Fi is an aggregate function
„ Each Ai is an attribute name 39
Aggregate Operation – Example
„ Relation r: A B C

α α 7
α β 7
β β 3
β β 10

g sum(c) (r) sum-C

27

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Aggregate Operation – Example
„ Find the total account balance of each branch
branch-name g sum(balance) (account)
„ Relation account grouped by branch-name:
branch-name account-number balance
Perryridge A-102 400
Perryridge A-201 900
Brighton A-217 750
Brighton A-215 750
Redwood A-222 700

branch-name balance
Result of the Perryridge 1300
query: Brighton 1500
Redwood 700 41
Aggregate Functions (Cont..)
„ Result of aggregation does not have a name
„ Can use rename operation to give it a name
„ For convenience, we permit renaming as
part of aggregate operation

branch-name g sum(balance) as sum-balance (account)

branch-name sum-balance
Perryridge 1300
Brighton 1500
Redwood 700
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 Aggregate Functions (Cont..)
‡ Find the total salary sum of all part-time employees at
each branch of the bank separately.
‡ pt-works relation:

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 Aggregate Functions (Cont..)
Solution:

branch-name ς sum(salary) (pt-works)

The pt-works Relation After

Grouping Result of the
Relational Query

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 Aggregate Functions (Cont..)
„ Find the maximum salary for the part-time employees at
each branch, in addition to the sum of salaries, of the
bank separately.
„ Solution:

branch-name ς sum (salary) as sum-salary, max(salary)

as max-salary (pt-works)

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Modification of the Database
„ The content of the database may be
modified using the following operations:
„ Deletion
„ Insertion
„ Updating
„ All these operations are expressed
using the assignment operator (← ).

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Deletion
„ A delete request is expressed similarly to a
query, except instead of displaying tuples to the
user, the selected tuples are removed from the
database.
„ Can delete only whole tuples; cannot delete
values on only particular attributes
„ A deletion is expressed in relational algebra by:
r←r–E
where r is a relation and E is a relational algebra
query.
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 Deletion Examples
„ Delete all account records in the Banani branch.
account ← account – σ branch-name = “Banani” (account)
„ Delete all loan records with amount in the range of 0 to 50
loan ← loan – σ amount ≥ 0 and amount ≤ 50 (loan)
„ Delete all accounts at branches located in Dhaka city. (Note, need
to delete corresponding records from depositor table also)
r1 ← σ branch-city = “Dhaka” (account branch)
r2 ← ∏account-number, branch-name, balance (r1)
r3 ← ∏ customer-name, account-number (r2 depositor)
account ← account – r2
depositor ← depositor – r3
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Insertion
„ To insert data into a relation, we either:
„ specify a tuple to be inserted
„ write a query whose result is a set of tuples to be
inserted
„ in relational algebra, an insertion is expressed by:
r← r ∪ E
where r is a relation and E is a relational algebra
expression.
„ The insertion of a single tuple is expressed by letting
E be a constant relation containing one tuple.

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Insertion Examples
„ Insert information in the database specifying that Smith has
$1200 in account A-973 at the Perryridge branch.
account ← account ∪ {(“Perryridge”, “A-973”, 1200)}
depositor ← depositor ∪ {(“Smith”, “A-973”)}

„ Provide as a gift for all loan customers in the Perryridge branch,

a $200 savings account. Let the loan number serve as the
account number for the new savings account.
r1 ← (σbranch-name = “Perryridge” (borrower loan))
account ← account ∪ ∏ loan-number, branch-name, 200 (r1)
depositor ← depositor ∪ ∏customer-name, loan-number,(r1)

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 Updating
„ A mechanism to change a value in a tuple without
changing all values in the tuple
„ Use the generalized projection operator to do this task
r ← ∏ F1, F2, …, FI, (r)
„ Each F, is either the ith attribute of r, if the ith attribute is
not updated, or, if the attribute is to be updated
„ Fi is an expression, involving only constants and the
attributes of r, which gives the new value for the attribute

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 Update Examples

„ Make interest payments by increasing all balances by 5 percent.

account ← ∏ AN, BN, BAL * 1.05 (account)
where AN, BN and BAL stand for account-number, branch-name
and balance, respectively.

„ Pay all accounts with balances over $10,000 a 6 percent interest

and pay all others 5 percent

account ← ∏ AN, BN, BAL * 1.06 (σ BAL > 10000 (account))

∪ ∏AN, BN, BAL * 1.05 (σBAL ≤ 10000 (account))

52
 Views
„ In some cases, it is not desirable for all users to see
the entire logical model (i.e., all the actual relations
stored in the database.)
„ Consider a person who needs to know a customer’s
loan number but has no need to see the loan amount.
This person should see a relation described, in the
relational algebra, by
∏customer-name, loan-number (borrower loan)
„ Any relation that is not of the conceptual model but is
made visible to a user as a “virtual relation” is called a
view.
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View Definition
„ A view is defined using the create view statement
which has the form
create view v as <query expression>
where <query expression> is any legal relational
algebra query expression. The view name is
represented by v.
„ Once a view is defined, the view name can be used
to refer to the virtual relation that the view generates.
„ View definition is not the same as creating a new
relation by evaluating the query expression

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 View Examples
„ Consider the view (named all-customer) consisting of
branches and their customers.
create view all-customer as
∏branch-name, customer-name (depositor account)
∪ ∏branch-name, customer-name (borrower loan)

„ We can find all customers of the Perryridge branch by

writing:
∏ customer-name
(σbranch-name = “Perryridge” (all-customer))
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 Updates Through View
„ Database modifications expressed as views must be
translated to modifications of the actual relations in the
database.
„ Consider the person who needs to see all loan data in
the loan relation except amount. The view given to the
person, branch-loan, is defined as:
create view branch-loan as
∏branch-name, loan-number (loan)
„ Since we allow a view name to appear wherever a
relation name is allowed, the person may write:
branch-loan ← branch-loan ∪ {(“Perryridge”, L-37)}
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