Beginning Database Design : From Novice to Professional

The problem of how to design a database is commonly encountered by those not specifically trained and practiced in the art. Web site designers often use MySQL databases to back a web site, a small business owner might design an Access database to hold sales leads, researchers often use databases to manage and analyze their data. None of these types of people are professional database designers, and yet good design is crucial the success of their efforts. Desktop Database Design is written with the lay person in mind. In clear and simple language, the author uses examples from her real-life experience to highlight the types of problems that can result from poor design, to motivate readers to do good design. She then goes on to provide a sound method that readers can follow in order to produce a good design. While focus is on implementing designs in relational databases such as Microsoft Access, PostgreSQL, MySQL, the author does not forget those readers who will choose to implement their database in a spreadsheet such as Microsoft Excel. Beginning Database Design: From Novice to Professional provides short, easy-to-read explanations of how to get database design right the first time. This book offers numerous examples to help you avoid the many pitfalls that entrap new and not-so-new database designers. Through the help of use cases and class diagrams modeled in the UML, youll learn how to discover and represent the details and scope of the problem in question. Database design is not an exact science, and solid database design principles and examples help demonstrate the consequences of simplifications and pragmatic decisions. The rationale is to try to keep it simple, but allow room for development as situations change or resources permit. The book also features an introduction for implementing the final design in a relational database. The problem of how to design a database is commonly encountered by those not specifically trained and practiced in the art. This book, therefore, is written with the lay person in mind. In simple language, the author uses examples from her real-life experience to highlight the types of problems that can result from poor design, to motivate readers to do good design. She then goes on to provide a sound method that readers can follow in order to produce a good design. While focus is on implementing designs in relational databases, the author does not forget those readers who will choose to implement their database in a spreadsheet such as Microsoft Excel.