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Relational Database Concepts
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very organization has data that needs to be collected, managed, and analyzed. A relational database fulfills these needs. Along with the powerful features of a relational database come requirements for developing and maintaining the database. Data analysts, database designers, and database administrators (DBAs) need to be able to translate the data in a database into useful information for both day-to-day operations and long-term planning. Relational databases can be a bit intimidating at first, even if you’re a specialist in some other informational technology area, such as networking, web development, or programming. This chapter will give you a good overview of current relational and object-relational database concepts. It begins by comparing a database with another tool that most everyone has used—a spreadsheet (also known as the “poor man’s” database). Then you’ll learn about the basic components of a relational database, the data modeling process, and object-relational database features. In this chapter, you will learn about: How spreadsheets compare with databases Relational database concepts Data modeling concepts Object-relational database concepts

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Are Spreadsheets Like Databases?
Most people are familiar with some kind of spreadsheet, such as Microsoft Excel. Spreadsheets are easy and convenient to use, and they may be employed by an individual much like a database is used in the enterprise. Let’s look at the features of spreadsheets to see how good of a database tool they actually are. Similar to databases, spreadsheets are commonly used to store information in a tabular format. A spreadsheet can store data in rows and columns, it can link cells on one sheet to those on another sheet, and it can force data to be entered in a specific cell in a specific format. It’s easy to calculate formulas from groups of cells on the spreadsheet, create