UNIT-4

Relational Data Model

What is Relational Model?
Relational Model (RM) represents the database as a collection of relations. A
relation is nothing but a table of values. Every row in the table represents a
collection of related data values. These rows in the table denote a real-world
entity or relationship.
The table name and column names are helpful to interpret the meaning of
values in each row. The data are represented as a set of relations. In the
relational model, data are stored as tables. However, the physical storage of the
data is independent of the way the data are logically organized.
Some popular Relational Database management systems are:
 DB2 and Informix Dynamic Server – IBM
 Oracle and RDB – Oracle
 SQL Server and Access – Microsoft

Relational Model Concepts in DBMS

1. Attribute: Each column in a Table. Attributes are the properties which
define a relation. e.g., Student_Rollno, NAME,etc.
2. Tables – In the Relational model the, relations are saved in the table
format. It is stored along with its entities. A table has two properties rows
and columns. Rows represent records and columns represent attributes.
3. Tuple – It is nothing but a single row of a table, which contains a single
record.
4. Relation Schema: A relation schema represents the name of the relation
with its attributes.
5. Degree: The total number of attributes which in the relation is called the
degree of the relation.
6. Cardinality: Total number of rows present in the Table.
7. Column: The column represents the set of values for a specific attribute.
 8. Relation instance – Relation instance is a finite set of tuples in the
RDBMS system. Relation instances never have duplicate tuples.
9. Relation key – Every row has one, two or multiple attributes, which is
called relation key.
10. Attribute domain – Every attribute has some pre-defined value and
scope which is known as attribute domain

Relational Integrity Constraints

Relational Integrity constraints in DBMS are referred to conditions which must
be present for a valid relation. These Relational constraints in DBMS are
derived from the rules in the mini-world that the database represents.
There are many types of Integrity Constraints in DBMS. Constraints on the
Relational database management system is mostly divided into three main
categories are:
1. Domain Constraints
2. Key Constraints
3. Referential Integrity Constraints

Domain Constraints
Domain constraints can be violated if an attribute value is not appearing in the
corresponding domain or it is not of the appropriate data type.
Domain constraints specify that within each tuple, and the value of each
attribute must be unique. This is specified as data types which include standard
data types integers, real numbers, characters, Booleans, variable length strings,
etc.Example:
Create DOMAIN CustomerName
CHECK (value not NULL)
The example shown demonstrates creating a domain constraint such that
CustomerName is not NULL

Key Constraints
An attribute that can uniquely identify a tuple in a relation is called the key of
the table. The value of the attribute for different tuples in the relation has to be
unique.Example:
In the given table, CustomerID is a key attribute of Customer Table. It is most
likely to have a single key for one customer, CustomerID =1 is only for the
CustomerName =” Google”.
CustomerID CustomerName

Google

Amazon

Apple

Referential Integrity Constraints

Referential Integrity constraints in DBMS are based on the concept of Foreign
Keys. A foreign key is an important attribute of a relation which should be
referred to in other relationships. Referential integrity constraint state happens
where relation refers to a key attribute of a different or same relation.
However, that key element must exist in the table.
Example:
In the above example, we have 2 relations, Customer and Billing.
Tuple for CustomerID =1 is referenced twice in the relation Billing. So we
know CustomerName=Google has billing amount $300

Operations in Relational Model

Four basic update operations performed on relational database model are
Insert, update, delete and select.
 Insert is used to insert data into the relation
 Delete is used to delete tuples from the table.
 Modify allows you to change the values of some attributes in existing
tuples.
 Select allows you to choose a specific range of data.

Whenever one of these operations are applied, integrity constraints specified

on the relational database schema must never be violated.

Insert Operation
The insert operation gives values of the attribute for a new tuple which should
be inserted into a relation.
Update Operation
You can see that in the below-given relation table CustomerName= ‘Apple’ is
updated from Inactive to Active.

Delete Operation
To specify deletion, a condition on the attributes of the relation selects the
tuple to be deleted.

In the above-given example, CustomerName= “Apple” is deleted from the

table.
The Delete operation could violate referential integrity if the tuple which is
deleted is referenced by foreign keys from other tuples in the same database.

Select Operation

In the above-given example, CustomerName=”Amazon” is selected

Best Practices for creating a Relational Model
 Data need to be represented as a collection of relations
 Each relation should be depicted clearly in the table
 Rows should contain data about instances of an entity
 Columns must contain data about attributes of the entity
 Cells of the table should hold a single value
 Each column should be given a unique name
 No two rows can be identical
 The values of an attribute should be from the same domain

Advantages of Relational Database Model

 Simplicity: A Relational data model in DBMS is simpler than the
hierarchical and network model.
 Structural Independence: The relational database is only concerned
with data and not with a structure. This can improve the performance of
the model.
 Easy to use: The Relational model in DBMS is easy as tables consisting
of rows and columns are quite natural and simple to understand
 Query capability: It makes possible for a high-level query language
like SQL to avoid complex database navigation.
 Data independence: The Structure of Relational database can be
changed without having to change any application.
 Scalable: Regarding a number of records, or rows, and the number of
fields, a database should be enlarged to enhance its usability.

Disadvantages of Relational Model

 Few relational databases have limits on field lengths which can’t be
exceeded.
 Relational databases can sometimes become complex as the amount of
data grows, and the relations between pieces of data become more
complicated.
  Complex relational database systems may lead to isolated databases
where the information cannot be shared from one system to another.

Relational Algebra
Relational algebra is a procedural query language, which takes instances of relations as
input and yields instances of relations as output. It uses operators to perform queries. An
operator can be either unary or binary. They accept relations as their input and yield
relations as their output. Relational algebra is performed recursively on a relation and
intermediate results are also considered relations.
The fundamental operations of relational algebra are as follows −

 Select
 Project
 Union
 Set different
 Cartesian product
 Rename
We will discuss all these operations in the following sections.

Select Operation (σ)

It selects tuples that satisfy the given predicate from a relation.
Notation − σp(r)
Where σ stands for selection predicate and r stands for relation. p is prepositional logic
formula which may use connectors like and, or, and not. These terms may use relational
operators like − =, ≠, ≥, < ,  >,  ≤.
For example −
σsubject = "database"(Books)
Output − Selects tuples from books where subject is 'database'.
σsubject = "database" and price = "450"(Books)
Output − Selects tuples from books where subject is 'database' and 'price' is 450.
σsubject = "database" and price = "450" or year > "2010"(Books)
Output − Selects tuples from books where subject is 'database' and 'price' is 450 or those
books published after 2010.
Project Operation (∏)
It projects column(s) that satisfy a given predicate.
Notation − ∏A , A , A  (r)
1 2 n

Where A , A  , A  are attribute names of relation r.

1 2 n

Duplicate rows are automatically eliminated, as relation is a set.

For example −
∏subject, author (Books)
Selects and projects columns named as subject and author from the relation Books.

Union Operation (∪)

It performs binary union between two given relations and is defined as −
r ∪ s = { t | t ∈ r or t ∈ s}
Notation − r U s
Where r and s are either database relations or relation result set (temporary relation).
For a union operation to be valid, the following conditions must hold −

 r, and s must have the same number of attributes.

 Attribute domains must be compatible.
 Duplicate tuples are automatically eliminated.
∏ author (Books) ∪ ∏ author (Articles)
Output − Projects the names of the authors who have either written a book or an article
or both.

Set Difference (−)

The result of set difference operation is tuples, which are present in one relation but are
not in the second relation.
Notation − r − s
Finds all the tuples that are present in r but not in s.
∏ author (Books) − ∏ author (Articles)
Output − Provides the name of authors who have written books but not articles.
Cartesian Product (Χ)
Combines information of two different relations into one.
Notation − r Χ s
Where r and s are relations and their output will be defined as −
r Χ s = { q t | q ∈ r and t ∈ s}
σauthor = 'tutorialspoint'(Books Χ Articles)
Output − Yields a relation, which shows all the books and articles written by
tutorialspoint.

Rename Operation (ρ)

The results of relational algebra are also relations but without any name. The rename
operation allows us to rename the output relation. 'rename' operation is denoted with
small Greek letter rho ρ.
Notation − ρ x (E)
Where the result of expression E is saved with name of x.
Additional operations are −

 Set intersection
 Assignment
 Natural join

SQL
o SQL stands for Structured Query Language. It is used for storing and managing
data in relational database management system (RDMS).
o It is a standard language for Relational Database System. It enables a user to create,
read, update and delete relational databases and tables.
o All the RDBMS like MySQL, Informix, Oracle, MS Access and SQL Server use
SQL as their standard database language.
o SQL allows users to query the database in a number of ways, using English-like
statements.
Rules:
SQL follows the following rules:

o Structure query language is not case sensitive. Generally, keywords of SQL are
written in uppercase.
o Statements of SQL are dependent on text lines. We can use a single SQL statement
on one or multiple text line.
o Using the SQL statements, you can perform most of the actions in a database.
o SQL depends on tuple relational calculus and relational algebra.

SQL process:
o When an SQL command is executing for any RDBMS, then the system figure out
the best way to carry out the request and the SQL engine determines that how to
interpret the task.
o In the process, various components are included. These components can be
optimization Engine, Query engine, Query dispatcher, classic, etc.
o All the non-SQL queries are handled by the classic query engine, but SQL query
engine won't handle logical files.
Characteristics of SQL
o SQL is easy to learn.
o SQL is used to access data from relational database management systems.
o SQL can execute queries against the database.
o SQL is used to describe the data.
o SQL is used to define the data in the database and manipulate it when needed.
o SQL is used to create and drop the database and table.
o SQL is used to create a view, stored procedure, function in a database.
o SQL allows users to set permissions on tables, procedures, and views.

Advantages of SQL
There are the following advantages of SQL:

High speed
Using the SQL queries, the user can quickly and efficiently retrieve a large amount of
records from a database.
No coding needed
In the standard SQL, it is very easy to manage the database system. It doesn't require a
substantial amount of code to manage the database system.

Well defined standards

Long established are used by the SQL databases that are being used by ISO and ANSI.

Portability
SQL can be used in laptop, PCs, server and even some mobile phones.

Interactive language
SQL is a domain language used to communicate with the database. It is also used to
receive answers to the complex questions in seconds.

Multiple data view

Using the SQL language, the users can make different views of the database structure.

SQL Datatype
o SQL Datatype is used to define the values that a column can contain.
o Every column is required to have a name and data type in the database table.
Datatype of SQL:

1. Binary Datatypes
There are Three types of binary Datatypes which are given below:

Data Description
Type

binary It has a maximum length of 8000 bytes. It contains fixed-length

binary data.

varbinary It has a maximum length of 8000 bytes. It contains variable-length

binary data.

image It has a maximum length of 2,147,483,647 bytes. It contains variable-

length binary data.

2. Approximate Numeric Datatype :

The subtypes are given below:
 Data From To Description
type

float -1.79E + 1.79E + It is used to specify a floating-point value e.g. 6.2,

308 308 2.9 etc.

real -3.40e + 38 3.40E + It specifies a single precision floating point number

38

3. Exact Numeric Datatype

The subtypes are given below:

Data type Description

int It is used to specify an integer value.

smallint It is used to specify small integer value.

bit It has the number of bits to store.

decimal It specifies a numeric value that can have a decimal number.

numeric It is used to specify a numeric value.

4. Character String Datatype

The subtypes are given below:

SQL Datatype
o SQL Datatype is used to define the values that a column can contain.
 o Every column is required to have a name and data type in the database table.

Datatype of SQL:

1. Binary Datatypes
There are Three types of binary Datatypes which are given below:

Data Description
Type

binary It has a maximum length of 8000 bytes. It contains fixed-length binary data.

varbinary It has a maximum length of 8000 bytes. It contains variable-length binary data.

image It has a maximum length of 2,147,483,647 bytes. It contains variable-length binary

data.

2. Approximate Numeric Datatype :

The subtypes are given below:

Data From To Description

type
float -1.79E + 1.79E + It is used to specify a floating-point value e.g. 6.2, 2.9 etc.
308 308

real -3.40e + 38 3.40E + It specifies a single precision floating point number

38

3. Exact Numeric Datatype

The subtypes are given below:

Data type Description

int It is used to specify an integer value.

smallint It is used to specify small integer value.

bit It has the number of bits to store.

decimal It specifies a numeric value that can have a decimal number.

numeric It is used to specify a numeric value.

4. Character String Datatype

The subtypes are given below:

Data Description
type

char It has a maximum length of 8000 characters. It contains Fixed-length non-

unicode characters.

varchar It has a maximum length of 8000 characters. It contains variable-length non-

unicode characters.
 text It has a maximum length of 2,147,483,647 characters. It contains variable-
length non-unicode characters.

5. Date and time Datatypes

The subtypes are given below:

Datatype Description

date It is used to store the year, month, and days value.

time It is used to store the hour, minute, and second values.

timestamp It stores the year, month, day, hour, minute, and the second value.

SQL Commands
o SQL commands are instructions. It is used to communicate with the database. It is
also used to perform specific tasks, functions, and queries of data.
o SQL can perform various tasks like create a table, add data to tables, drop the table,
modify the table, set permission for users.

Types of SQL Commands

There are five types of SQL commands: DDL, DML, DCL, TCL, and DQL.
. Data Definition Language (DDL)
o DDL changes the structure of the table like creating a table, deleting a table,
altering a table, etc.
o All the command of DDL are auto-committed that means it permanently save all
the changes in the database.

Here are some commands that come under DDL:

o CREATE
o ALTER
o DROP
o TRUNCATE

a. CREATE It is used to create a new table in the database.

Syntax: CREATE TABLE TABLE_NAME (COLUMN_NAME DATATYPES[,....]);  
Example:
CREATE TABLE EMPLOYEE(Name VARCHAR2(20), Email VARCHAR2(100), DO
B DATE);  

b. DROP: It is used to delete both the structure and record stored in the table.

Syntax: DROP TABLE table_name;  

Example: DROP TABLE EMPLOYEE;  

c. ALTER: It is used to alter the structure of the database. This change could be either to
modify the characteristics of an existing attribute or probably to add a new attribute.

Syntax:

To add a new column in the table

ALTER TABLE table_name ADD column_name COLUMN-definition;    

To modify existing column in the table:

ALTER TABLE table_name MODIFY(column_definitions....);  

EXAMPLE

ALTER TABLE STU_DETAILS ADD(ADDRESS VARCHAR2(20));  
ALTER TABLE STU_DETAILS MODIFY (NAME VARCHAR2(20));  

d. TRUNCATE: It is used to delete all the rows from the table and free the space
containing the table.

Syntax:

TRUNCATE TABLE table_name;  

Example:

TRUNCATE TABLE EMPLOYEE;  
2. Data Manipulation Language
o DML commands are used to modify the database. It is responsible for all form of
changes in the database.
o The command of DML is not auto-committed that means it can't permanently save
all the changes in the database. They can be rollback.

Here are some commands that come under DML:

o INSERT
o UPDATE
o DELETE

a. INSERT: The INSERT statement is a SQL query. It is used to insert data into the row
of a table.

Syntax:

INSERT INTO TABLE_NAME    
(col1, col2, col3,.... col N)  
VALUES (value1, value2, value3, .... valueN);  

Or

INSERT INTO TABLE_NAME    
VALUES (value1, value2, value3, .... valueN);    

For example:

INSERT INTO javatpoint (Author, Subject) VALUES ("Sonoo", "DBMS");  

b. UPDATE: This command is used to update or modify the value of a column in the

table.

Syntax:

UPDATE table_name SET [column_name1= value1,...column_nameN = valueN] [WHE
RE CONDITION]   
For example:

UPDATE students    
SET User_Name = 'Sonoo'    
WHERE Student_Id = '3'  

c. DELETE: It is used to remove one or more row from a table.

Syntax:

DELETE FROM table_name [WHERE condition];  

For example:

DELETE FROM javatpoint  
WHERE Author="Sonoo";  

3. Data Control Language

DCL commands are used to grant and take back authority from any database user.

Here are some commands that come under DCL:

o Grant
o Revoke

a. Grant: It is used to give user access privileges to a database.

Example

GRANT SELECT, UPDATE ON MY_TABLE TO SOME_USER, ANOTHER_USER;  

b. Revoke: It is used to take back permissions from the user.

Example

REVOKE SELECT, UPDATE ON MY_TABLE FROM USER1, USER2;  
4. Transaction Control Language
TCL commands can only use with DML commands like INSERT, DELETE and
UPDATE only.

These operations are automatically committed in the database that's why they cannot be
used while creating tables or dropping them.

Here are some commands that come under TCL:

o COMMIT
o ROLLBACK
o SAVEPOINT

a. Commit: Commit command is used to save all the transactions to the database.

Syntax:

COMMIT;  

Example:

DELETE FROM CUSTOMERS  
WHERE AGE = 25;  
COMMIT;  

b. Rollback: Rollback command is used to undo transactions that have not already been
saved to the database.

Syntax:

ROLLBACK;  

Example:

DELETE FROM CUSTOMERS  
WHERE AGE = 25;  
ROLLBACK;  
c. SAVEPOINT: It is used to roll the transaction back to a certain point without rolling
back the entire transaction.

Syntax:

SAVEPOINT SAVEPOINT_NAME;  

5. Data Query Language

DQL is used to fetch the data from the database.

It uses only one command:

o SELECT

a. SELECT: This is the same as the projection operation of relational algebra. It is used

to select the attribute based on the condition described by WHERE clause.

Syntax:

SELECT expressions    
FROM TABLES    
WHERE conditions;  

For example:

SELECT emp_name  
FROM employee  
WHERE age > 20;