OCR Computer Science A Level

1.3.2 Databases
Advanced Notes

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Specification:

1.3.2 a)

● Relational Database
● Flat File
● Primary Keys, Foreign Keys, Secondary Keys
● Entity relationship modelling
● Normalisation
● Indexing

1.3.2 b)

● Methods of capturing, selecting, managing, and exchanging data

1.3.2 c)

● Normalisation

1.3.2 d)

● SQL

1.3.2 e)

● Referential Integrity

1.3.2 f)

● Transaction processing
● ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability)
● Record locking
● Redundancy

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 Relational Database
Relational Databases
An entity is an item of interest about which ​information is stored​. A relational database is a
database which ​recognises​ ​the differences​ between ​entities​ by creating different tables for
each entity.

The diagram on the right is an entity relationship

model which shows two entities: Doctor and Patient.
DoctorID is the attribute linking the two tables
together. Attributes are ​characteristics of the entity​;
these are categories about which data is collected.

Flat File
A flat file is a database that consists of a ​single file​. The flat file will most likely be based
around a ​single entity and its attributes​.
Flat files are typically written out in the following way:

Entity1​(​Attribute1​, Attribute2, Attribute3 …)

The example in the table shows the entity Car. Age and Price are attributes of each car.
For this example, the description would be laid out as:

Car​(​CarID​, Age, Price)

Car

CarID Age Price

Car1 5 years £1,500

Car2 2 years £2,400

Primary Key
A primary key is a ​unique identifier​ for each ​record ​in the table. In example (2), the unique
identifier is the CarID as this is always different for each row in the table. In example (1),
the primary key for the Doctor table would be DoctorID, and the primary key for the Patient
table would be PatientID. The primary key is shown by ​underlining it​.

Foreign Key
A foreign key is the attribute which ​links two tables together​. The foreign key will exist in
one table as the primary key and act as the foreign key in another. In example (1),
DoctorID is the foreign key in the Patient table. The foreign key is shown using an asterisk.

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Secondary Key
A secondary key allows a database to be​ searched quickly​. Looking at example (1), the
patient is unlikely to remember their patientID but will know their surname. Therefore, a
secondary index ​(secondary key) is set up on the surname attribute. This makes it
possible to ​order and search ​by surname which makes it easier to find specific patients in
the database.

Entity Relationship Modelling

Tables can have different kinds of relationships, which depend on how entities are related
in the real world:
● One-to-one​: Each entity can only be linked to one other entity, such as the
relationship between a husband and wife. The husband entity can only be
associated with one wife entity and vice versa.
● One-to-many​: One table can be associated with many other tables, such as a
mother having multiple children. Similarly, multiple child entities can be linked to the
same mother entity.
● Many-to-many​: One entity can be associated with many other entities and the same
applies the other way round. An example is students and courses - each student
can enrol in more than one course and each course can have more than one
student.

One-to-one relationships are demonstrated using

a single line used to connect two entities. A
one-to-many relationship will have a branch on
one side, while a many-to-many relationship has
branches on both sides.

To practice entity relationship modelling, think about different real-world objects and how
they are linked to each other. Consider, for example, the link between customers, orders
and products.

Normalisation
The process of coming up with the ​best possible layout​ for a ​relational database​ is called
normalisation.
Normalisation tries to accomplish the following things:
● No redundancy​ (unnecessary duplicates).
● Consistent data​ throughout linked tables.
● Records can be​ added and removed without issues.
● Complex ​queries ​can be carried out.

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There are three types of normalisation:

First Normal Form

There must be ​no attribute​ that contains ​more than a single value.

Second Normal Form

A database which ​doesn’t have any partial dependencies​ and is in​ first normal form​ can be
said to be in second normal form. This means that no attributes can depend on part of a
composite key.

Third Normal Form

If the database is in ​second normal form​ and contains ​no non-key dependencies,​ it is in
third normal form. A non-key dependency means the attribute only depends on the value
of the primary key and nothing else.

Indexing
Indexing is a ​method​ used to store the position of each record ordered by a certain
attribute. This is used to look up and access data quickly. The ​primary key​ is ​automatically
indexed​; however, the primary key is almost never queried since it is not normally
remembered. This is why secondary keys are used. Secondary keys are indexed to make
the table easier and faster to search through on those particular attributes.

Handling Data

Capturing Data
Data needs to be input into the database and there are multiple methods of doing this. The
chosen method is always dependent on the context. For example, if pedestrians are
participating in a survey, their responses will need to be ​manually entered​ into the
database.

Data is also captured when people pay cheques. Banks scan cheques using ​Magnetic Ink
Character Recognition (MICR)​. All of the details excluding the amount are printed in a
special magnetic ink which can be recognised by a computer but the amount must be
entered manually. ​Optical Mark Recognition (OMR)​ is used for multiple choice questions
on a test. Other forms use​ Optical Character Recognition (OCR)​.

Selecting and Managing Data

Selecting the correct data is an important part of ​data preprocessing​. This could involve
only selecting data that fits a certain criteria to reduce the volume of input. For example, a
camera catching speeding cars will only select cars going above a certain speed. Then,
background information will be removed so only the number plate is added to a record.

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Collected data can alternatively be managed using SQL to sort, restructure and select
certain sections.

Exchanging Data
Exchanging data is the process of ​transferring the collected data​. One common way of
exchanging data is ​EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)​. This ​doesn’t require human
interaction​ and enables data transfer from one computer to another.

SQL

SQL stands for ​Structured Query Language​ and is a

declarative language​ used to ​manipulate databases​. SQL
enables the creating, removing and updating of databases.

SELECT, FROM, WHERE, ORDER BY

The ​SELECT​ statement is used to ​collect fields from a given
table​ and can be paired with the ​FROM​ statement to ​specify
which table(s) the information will come from​. The ​WHERE
statement can be used in conjunction to specify the search
criteria.

Movie

MovieID MovieTitle MovieCompany DatePublished DirectorName

M0001 Howdy Partner! Cowboys Inc 04/21/2001 James

M0002 Okay Samantha, just Sadboys Inc 04/21/2001 Joseph

leave.

M0003 Bye Bye Bucky. Cowboys Inc 05/12/2004 Jeremy

M0004 My wife left me for my Sadboys Inc 05/14/2004 James

dog...

M0005 Cars, Girls, and Money. Rappers ltd 06/21/2012 James

M0006 Water Bottle Sadness Sadboys Inc 08/12/2015 Jeremy

For example:
SELECT MovieTitle, DatePublished
FROM Movie
WHERE DatePublished BETWEEN #01/01/2000# AND #31/12/2005#

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ORDER BY DatePublished;
This will produce the following result:

MovieTitle DatePublished

Howdy Partner! 04/21/2001

Okay Samantha, just leave. 04/21/2001

Bye Bye Bucky. 05/12/2004

My wife left me for my dog... 05/14/2004

Cars, Girls, and Money. 06/21/2012

Water Bottle Sadness 08/12/2015

ORDER BY
The​ ORDER BY ​part of the code specifies whether you want it in ​ascending or descending
order. Values are automatically placed in ascending order and adding ‘Desc’ to the end of
statement will cause values to be displayed in descending order:

ORDER BY DatePublished Desc

JOIN
JOIN​ provides a method of ​combining rows from multiple tables​ based on a ​common field
between them. The example below shows the joining of two tables, Movies and Directors.

SELECT Movie.MovieTitle, Director.DirectorName, Movie.MovieCompany

FROM Movie
JOIN Director
ON Movie.DirectorName = Director.DirectorName

CREATE
The ​CREATE​ function allows you to ​make new databases​, as shown below:

CREATE TABLE TableName

(
Attribute1 INTEGER NOT NULL, PRIMARY KEY,
Attribute2 VARCHAR(20) NOT NULL,
…
)

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The following details about each attribute must be specified:
- Whether it is the ​primary key
- Its ​data type
- Whether it must be filled in (‘Not Null’)

Data Types:
- CHAR(n)​: this is a string of fixed length n
- VARCHAR(n)​: this is a string of variable length with
upper limit n
- BOOLEAN​: TRUE or FALSE values
- INTEGER/INT​: integer
- FLOAT​: number with a floating decimal point
- DATE​: the date in the format Day/Month/Year
- TIME​: the time in the format Hour/Minute/Second
- CURRENCY​: sets the number as a monetary amount

ALTER
ALTER​ is used to ​add, delete or modify​ the columns in a table

Adding a column:
ALTER TABLE TableName
ADD AttributeX and their dataTypes

Deleting a column:
ALTER TABLE TableName
DROP COLUMN AttributeX

Modifying the data type of a column:

ALTER TABLE TableName
MODIFY COLUMN AttributeX NewDataType

INSERT INTO
This is used to ​insert a new record​ into a database table.

For example:
INSERT INTO (column1, column2, …)
VALUES (value1, value2, …)

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 UPDATE
This is used to ​update a record​ in a database table.

For example:
UPDATE TableName
SET column1 = value1, column2 = value2 …
Where columnX = value

DELETE
This is used to ​delete a record​ from a database table.

For example:
DELETE FROM TableName
WHERE columnX = value

Referential Integrity

Referential integrity is the process of ​ensuring consistency​. This ensures that information
is not removed if it is required elsewhere in a linked database. If two database tables are
linked, one of these tables cannot be deleted as the other table requires its contents.

Transaction Processing
A transaction is defined as a ​single operation executed on data​. However a collection of
operations can also sometimes be considered a transaction.

ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability)

Atomicity:
- A transaction must be ​processed in its entirety or not at all​,
Consistency:
- A transaction must maintain the ​referential integrity rules​ between linked tables,
Isolation:
- Simultaneous executions of transactions should lead to the ​same result​ as if they
were executed one after the other,
Durability
- Once a transaction has been executed it ​will remain so​ regardless of the
circumstances surrounding it, such as in the event of a power cut.

Record Locking
The process of ​preventing simultaneous access to records​ in a database is called record
locking and it is used in order to ​prevent inconsistencies​ or a ​loss of updates​. While one
person is editing a record, this ‘locks’ the record so prevents others from accessing the
same record.

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There are some problems with this, the biggest of which is ​deadlock​. The easiest way to
explain this is through an example:
- User 1 accesses Customer 1’s record and as a result locks Customer 1’s record.
Simultaneously User 2 accesses Customer 2’s record and as a result locks
Customer 2’s record.
- Now User 1 tries to access Customer 2’s record, and User 2 tries to access
Customer 1’s record.
- User 1 waits for Customer 2’s record to be free and User 2 waits for Customer 1’s
record to be free and as they are both waiting, there is no progress causing a
deadlock.

Redundancy
Some information is very important and people and companies cannot afford to lose this
information. This is where redundancy comes in. Redundancy is the process of having one
or more copies of the data in ​physically different locations​. This means that if there is any
damage to one copy the others will remain unaffected and can be recovered.

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