ERM
ERD
Outline:
• What Entity relationship diagrams (ERD) are.
• What Entities in an ERD are?
• What Attributes in an ERD are?
• What Relationships in an ERD are?
• How to start an ERD .
ERM and ERD
• Entity-Relationship Data Model (ERM) is a detailed,
logical representation of the data for an organization
or for a business area.
– Expressed in terms of:
• Entities
• Attributes
• Relationships
• Entity-Relationship Diagram (ERD) is a graphical
representation of a Entity-Relationship Model.
ERD
• The purpose of an ERD is to capture the
richest possible understanding of the meaning
of data necessary for an information system or
organization.
• ERDs are made from Entities, Attributes, and
Relations.
ERM
• Entity–relationship modeling was developed
for database design by Peter Chen and
published in a 1976 paper;
• an ER model can be used also in the
specification of domain-specific ontologies.
ERM…
Entity
• Has its own identity that distinguishes it from
other entities.
– Examples:
• Person: PROFESSOR, STUDENT
• Place: STORE, UNIVERSITY
• Object: MACHINE, BUILDING
• Event: SALE, REGISTRATION
• Concept: ACCOUNT, COURSE
University Entity-Relationship Diagram
Entity Types
(Naming Guidelines)
Entity type name should be:
– A singular noun and in capital letters.
– Descriptive and specific to the organization.
– Concise.
– Named for the result of the event, not the activity
or process of the event.
University Entity-Relationship Diagram
Entity
Entity Entity
Entity Types
(Defining Guidelines)
• An Entity type definition should:
– Include a statement of what the unique
characteristics are for each instance.
– Make clear what entity instances are included and
not included.
– Include a description of when an instance of the
entity type is created and deleted.
– Specify when an instance might change into an
instance of another entity type.
– Specify what history is to be kept about entity
instances.
Attributes
Student
Student_ID
Student_Address
Student_Phone
Attributes
(Naming Guidelines)
• An attribute name:
– Should be a noun and capitalize the first letter of
each word. (Example: Student_ID.)
– Should be unique.
– Should follow a standard format. (Example:
Student_GPA, not GPA_of_Student.)
• Similar attributes of different entity types
should use similar but distinguished names.
– Example: Faculty_Residence_City_Name and
Student_Residence_City_Name
Attributes
(Defining Guidelines)
• An attribute definition should:
– State what the attribute is and why it is important.
– Make clear what is and isn’t included in the
attribute's value.
– Define any aliases.
– Indicate if the attribute is required or not.
– Indicate any relationships with other attributes.
Attributes
• Candidate Key = is an attribute that uniquely
identifies each instance of an entity type.
• Identifier = A candidate key that has been
selected as the unique, identifying
characteristic of an entity type. (Should be
underlined).
• Other types of Attributes: multivalued,
required, optional, composite, and derived.
Criteria for Selecting Attributes
• Choose a candidate key that will not change
its value.
• Choose a candidate key that has valid values
and not be null.
• Avoid using codes, such as a 2 digit warehouse
location.
Relationships
• Relationships are associations between one or
more entity types.
• Are the “glue” that holds together components
of an E-R model.
• The degree of a relationship = is the number of
entity types that participate in a relationship.
– There are 3 common relationships:
1. Unary (degree one)
2. binary (degree two)
3. Ternary (degree three)
University Entity-Relationship Diagram
Relationship
Relationship
Relationships
(Naming Guidelines)
• A relationship name should:
Be a verb phrase, such as Is_assigned_to.
Avoid vague names, such as “Has”.
Relationships
(Naming Guidelines)
• A relationship definition should Explain:
What action is being taken and why it is
important.
If there is any optional participation.
The history that is kept in the relationship.
What any restrictions on participation in the
relationship.
For example: An EMPLOYEE may only be able to
participate in two PROJECTS.
Relationship Cardinalities
Unary Relationship
• Relationship between the instances of one entity
type.
Is_married_to Manages
PERSON EMPLOYEE
One-to-one One-to-many
Binary Relationship
• Relationship between the instances of two entity
type.
Is_assigned Contains
PARKING
EMPLOYEE PRODUCT
SPACE PRODUCTS
LINE
One-to-One One-to-Many
Can also have many to many!
Ternary Relationship
• A simultaneous relationship among instances
of three entity types.
PART
VENDOR WAREHOUSE
Supplies
Guidelines for Drawing ERDs
• Lay out the diagram with minimal line crossing.
• Place subject entity types on the top of the diagram.
• Place plural entity types below a single entity type in a one-to-many
relationship.
• Place entity types participating in one-to-one and many-to-many
relationships alongside each other.
• Group closely related entity types when possible. Try to keep the
length of relationship lines as short as possible. Also try to minimize
the number of changes of direction in a single line.
• Show the most relevant relationship name. One name must always
be shown.
