This book presents a unified collection of concepts, tools, and techniques that constitute the most important technology available today for the design and implementation of information systems. The framework adopted for this integration goal is the one offered by the relational model of data, its applica­ tions, and implementations in multiuser and distributed environments. The topics presented in the book include conceptual modeling of application environments using the relational model, formal properties of that model, and tools such as relational languages which go with it, techniques for the logical and physical design of relational database systems and their imple­ mentations. The book attempts to develop an integrated methodology for addressing all these issues on the basis of the relational approach and various research and practical developments related to that approach. This book is the only one available today that presents such an inte­ gration. The diversity of approaches to data models, to logical and physical database design, to database application programming, and to use and imple­ mentation of database systems calls for a common framework for all of them. It has become difficult to study modern database technology with­ out such a unified approach to a diversity of results developed during the vigorous growth of the database area in recent years, let alone to teach a course on the subject.

1 Modeling Application Environments.- 2 Relational Model.- 3 Relational Database System.- 4 Relational Technology.- 1 Data Model.- 1 Relational Model of Data.- 2 Logical Dependencies.- 3 Hierarchical and Network Models.- Exercises: GROUP BY Clause; SET Function; Entity Relationship Diagrams; Generalized Joins; M: N Relationships; Lossless Joins.- Bibliographical Notes.- 2 Logical Design.- 1 Normal Forms.- 2 Abstractions.- 3 Design Methodology.- Exercises: Views; Types of Database Entities; Generalization; Associations; Aggregation; Characterization; Cover Aggregation; Taxonomic Design Methodology; Exception Modeling; Exception Handling.- Bibliographical Notes.- 3 Structural Design.- 1 Relational Images.- 2 Decomposition of Unary Queries.- 3 Decomposition of Binary Queries.- 4 Optimization of Binary Queries.- 5 Decomposition of Queries with Set Operators.- 6 Relational Representation of Relations and Their Images.- 7 Decomposition of Data Manipulation Statements.- 8 Structure of Images.- Exercises: Links; Network Structures; Decomposition of n-ary Queries; Optimization of Query Expressions; Properties of the Relational Operators; B*-Trees.- Bibliographical Notes.- 4 Data Integrity.- 1 Transactions and Integrity of Data.- 2 Concurrent Executions of Transactions.- 3 Locking Protocols.- 4 Logical Locks.- 5 Restoring a Consistent Database State.- Exercises: Assertions; Transactions; Triggers; Tree Protocol; Hierarchical Locking Protocol.- Bibliographical Notes.- 5 Distributed Technology.- 1 Architecture of Database Systems.- 2 Distributed Executions and Integrity.- 3 Distributed Query Processing.- 4 Distributed Updating.- Exercises: Fragmentation; Transaction Structure; Integrity Constraints and Data Distribution; Generalization and Fragmentation; Multidatabase Systems; Catalog Management; Object Naming.- Bibliographical Notes.- References.