Database Design for Mere Mortals : A Hands-On Guide to Relational Database Design

Hernandez, Michael J.

ISBN 10: 0201694719 / ISBN 13: 9780201694710

Published by Pearson Education, Limited, 1996

About this Item

Ships from the UK. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # GRP11306339

Bibliographic Details

Title: Database Design for Mere Mortals : A ...

Publisher: Pearson Education, Limited

Publication Date: 1996

Binding: Soft cover

Condition: Good

Edition: 1st.

About this title

Synopsis:

Sound design can save you hours of development time before you write a single line of code. Based on the author's years of experience teaching this material, Database Design for Mere Mortals is a straightforward, platform-independent tutorial on the basic principles of relational database design. Database design expert Michael J. Hernandez introduces the core concepts of design theory and method without the technical jargon. Database Design for Mere Mortals will provide any developer with a common-sense design methodology for developing databases that work. 0201694719B04062001

Review:

Database Design for Mere Mortals: A Hands-on Guide to Relational Database Design, Second Edition lets us know from the off that programmers and software architects don't really make a conscious decision to design an application (particularly one with online exposure) around the three-tier model-view-controller design pattern anymore. Three-tier, largely because of its adaptability and stability, is the norm. All of which means you need a database to underpin each of your applications. Designing your databases correctly can make the difference between slow-running, complicated code and software that's speedy, modular and easy to work with. Database Design for Mere Mortals prepares someone with only a passing familiarity with databases for the important job of building the persistence layer (also called the data model) for software.

Michael Hernandez explains database design in tradesman's terms. That is, he shows his readers how to identify the business problems that have to be satisfied by a database, then proceeds to explain how to build a solid solution to them. Hernandez's approach combines procedural guidelines (first identify critical facts, then apply a certain logic to yield tables, then establish cross-references, and so on) with practical definitions that clear up much of the rich trove of jargon surrounding databases. He walks through numerous examples, and doesn't shy away from the complexities that always exist in real customers' requirements. If you're not familiar with database design, and want to be, this is the book you need.

Topics covered: how to design databases that fit business requirements and make software construction easier. In addition to explaining relational database concepts, the author explains data integrity, null values, keys, table relationships (one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many) and data types. He emphasises processes designers should follow in building a new database or improving an existing one. --David Wall, Amazon.com