Most business and technical data consists of multiple tables with interlocking relationships. Such databases must provide reliable storage, transaction management, access security and multi-user support. In this course, you will learn the concepts and design for a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) and focus on the Structured Query Language (SQL) to define and manipulate data.

The course covers how to create conceptual, logical and physical designs of relational databases in response to a set of user requirements. Instructions will be provided through the use of several case studies. You will learn design methodology, entity-relationship diagrams (ERD) and normalization principles. You will use an Oracle database to design the ERD and implement a working database. SQL is the query language used to access, maintain and share data with the relational database. You will learn methods for producing readable output, creating and manipulating tables and creating and managing constraints using SQL.

The concepts and SQL language learned here apply to all major RDBMS. You will gain understanding of the relational DB and have hands-on experience in creating database and working with data. The instructor recommends MySQL as an example database.

Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to

• Describe a business or other activity in terms suitable for defining a relational database for that activity
• Discuss and communicate database design and implementation with other practitioners
• Compile the SQL code needed to create a database, as well as to insert, access and update the information in the database
• Identify some of the key bottlenecks and deal with them

Topics Include

• Relational database concepts
• Entity-relationship model
• Normalization
• SQL basics
• SQL functions and operators
• Restriction and formatting
• Sorting and aggregating data
• Transaction management and stored procedures
• Combining queries with set operators
• Managing tables and database performance

Skills Needed: Familiarity with general database concepts and ability to install software or databases on a personal computer.