The Relational Model

The Relational Model
- theoretical foundation
Database Group, Georgia Tech

© Leo Mark 1
Relational Model
The Relational Model
• data structures
• constraints
• operations
– algebra (ISBL)
– tuple calculus (QUEL, SQL)
– domain calculus (QBE)
• views

© Leo Mark 2
Relational Model
Data Structures
• let D1, D2 , D3 , ..., Dn be sets (not
necessarily distinct) of atomic values
• relation, R, defined over D1, D2 , D3 , ..., Dn
is a subset of the set of ordered n-
tuples {<d1, d2, d3, ..., dn | di  Di, i=1, ...,n};
D1, D2 , D3 , ..., Dn are called domains
• the number, n, is the degree of the
relation (unary, binary, ternary, n-ary).
• the number of tuples, |R|, in R is called
the cardinality of R
• if D1, D2 , D3 , ..., Dn are finite then there
are 2|D1||D2| ... |Dn| possible relation states

© Leo Mark 3
Relational Model
Data Structures
• an attribute name refers to a position
in a tuple by name rather than
position
• an attribute name indicate the role of
a domain in a relation
• attribute names must be unique
within relations
• by using attribute names we can
forget the ordering of field values in
tuples
• a relation definition includes the
following R( A1:D1, A2 :D2 , ..., An :Dn)

© Leo Mark 4
Relational Model
Constraints
• keys
• primary keys
• entity integrity
• referential integrity
FLT-SCHEDULE CUSTOMER
FLT# CUST# CUST-NAME

p p
RESERVATION
FLT# DATE CUST#

© Leo Mark 5
Relational Model
AIRPORT
airportcode name city state
FLT-SCHEDULE
flt# airline dtime from-airportcode atime to-airportcode miles price
FLT-WEEKDAY
flt# weekday
FLT-INSTANCE
flt# date plane# #avail-seats
AIRPLANE
plane# plane-type total-#seats
CUSTOMER
cust# first middle last phone# street city state zip
RESERVATION
flt# date cust# seat# check-in-status ticket#

© Leo Mark 6
Relational Model
Operations
• classes of relational DMLs:
– relational algebra (ISBL)
– tuple calculus (QUEL, SQL)
– domain calculus (QBE)
• a relational DML with the same
“retrieval power” as the relational
algebra is said to be relationally
complete
• all relational DMLs have syntax for:
– change (insert, delete, update)
– queries (retrieval)

© Leo Mark 7
Relational Model
Operations
- insert, delete, update
FLT-SCHEDULE
• constructs for insertion are very

primitive:
INSERT INTO FLT-SCHEDULE
VALUES (“DL212”, “DELTA”, 11-15-00, “ATL”,
13-05-00, ”CHI”, 650, 00351.00);
INSERT INTO FLT-SCHEDULE
VALUES (FLT#:“DL212”, AIRLINE:“DELTA”);

© Leo Mark 8
Relational Model
Operations
FLT-SCHEDULE
FLT-WEEKDAY
flt# weekday
FLT-INSTANCE
• “insert into FLT-INSTANCE all flights

scheduled for Thursday,
9/10/98”
INSERT INTO FLT-INSTANCE(flt#, date)
(SELECT S.flt#, 1998-09-10
FROM FLT-SCHEDULE S, FLT-WEEKDAY D
WHERE S.flt#=D.flt# AND weekday=“TH”);
• interesting only because it involves a query

© Leo Mark 9
Relational Model
Operations
FLT-WEEKDAY
flt# weekday
• constructs for deletion are very

primitive:
• “delete flights scheduled for
Thursdays”
DELETE
FROM FLT-WEEKDAY
WHERE weekday=“TH”;
• interesting only because it involves a
query

© Leo Mark 10
Relational Model
Operations
FLT-WEEKDAY
flt# weekday
• constructs for update are very

primitive:
• “update flights scheduled for
Thursdays to Fridays”
UPDATE FLT-WEEKDAY
SET weekday=“FR”
WHERE weekday=“TH”;
• interesting only because it involves
a query

© Leo Mark 11
Relational Model
Relational Algebra
• the Relational Algebra is procedural;
you tell it how to construct the
result
• it consists of a set of operators
which, when applied to relations,
yield relations (closed algebra)
R S union
R S intersection
R\S set difference
R S Cartesian product
A1, A2, ..., An (R)projection
expression (R) selection
R S natural join
R S theta-join
RS divideby
[A1 B1,.., An Bn] rename

© Leo Mark 12
Relational Model
Selection
FLT-WEEKDAY
flt# weekday
• “find (flt#, weekday) for all flights

scheduled for Mondays”
weekday=MO (FLT-WEEKDAY)
• the expression in expression (R) involves:
• operands: constants or attribute
names of R
• comparison operators: Š ° =
• logical operators: 
• nesting: ( )

© Leo Mark 13
Relational Model
Projection
FLT-WEEKDAY
flt# weekday
• “find flt# for all flights scheduled for

Mondays
flt#(weekday=MO (FLT-WEEKDAY))
• the attributes in the attribute list

ofA1, A2, ..., An (R) must be attributes of
the operand R

© Leo Mark 14
Relational Model
Union
FLT-WEEKDAY
flt# weekday
• “find the flt# for flights that are schedule for

either Mondays, or Tuesdays, or both”
flt#(weekday=MO (FLT-WEEKDAY))
flt#(weekday=TU (FLT-WEEKDAY))
• the two operands must be "type compatible"

© Leo Mark 15
Relational Model
Intersection
FLT-WEEKDAY
flt# weekday
• “find the flt# for flights that are

schedule for both Mondays and
Tuesdays”
flt#(weekday=TU (FLT-WEEKDAY))
• the two operands must be "type
compatible"

© Leo Mark 16
Relational Model
Set Difference
FLT-WEEKDAY
flt# weekday
• “find the flt# for flights that are

scheduled for Mondays, but not for
\ flt#(weekday=TU (FLT-WEEKDAY))
• the two operands must be "type
compatible"
• Note: R  S = R \ (R \ S)

© Leo Mark 17
Relational Model
Cartesian Product
FLT-INSTANCE
CUSTOMER
RESERVATION
“make a list containing (flt#, date, cust#)

for DL212 on 9/10, 98 for all customers in
Roswell that are not booked on that flight”
(cust#(city=ROSWELL(CUSTOMER)) 
flt#,date (flt#=DL212  date=1998-09-10
(FLT-INSTANCE)))\ flt#,date ,cust#(RESERVATION)

© Leo Mark 18
Relational Model
Natural Join
FLT-WEEKDAY
flt# weekday
FLT-INSTANCE
• “make a list with complete flight

instance information”
FLT-INSTANCE FLT-WEEKDAY
• natural join joins relations on attributes
with the same names
• all joins can be expressed by a
combination of primitive operators:
FLT-INSTANCE.flt#, date, weekday, #avail-seats
(FLT-INSTANCE.flt#=FLT-WEEKDAY.flt#
(FLT-INSTANCE FLT-WEEKDAY))

© Leo Mark 19
Relational Model
-join
FLT-SCHEDULE
FLT-INSTANCE
• “make a list of pairs of (FLT#1, FLT#2) that

form possible connections”
fl1, flt#(([flt#fl1, from-airportcode da1,dtime dt1, to-airportcode aa1, atime at1, date d1]
(FLT-SCHEDULE FLT-INSTANCE ))
d1=date aa1=from-airportcode  at1< dtime
(FLT-SCHEDULE FLT-INSTANCE))
• the-operators: Š ° =

© Leo Mark 20
Relational Model
Divideby
FLT-INSTANCE
RESERVATION
• “list the cust# of customers that

have reservations on all flight
instances”
flt#, date, cust# RESERVATION
flt#, date (FLT-INSTANCE)

© Leo Mark 21
Relational Model
ISBL - an example algebra
R S R UNION S
R S R INTERSECT S
R\S R MINUS S
A1, A2, ..., An (R)R[A1, A2, ..., An]
expression (R) R WHERE EXPRESSION
R S R JOIN S (no shared attributes)
R S R JOIN S (shared attributes)
R 
S via selection from 
RS R DIVIDEBY S
[A1 B1,..., An Bn] (R) R[A1 B1,.., An Bn]

© Leo Mark 22
Relational Model
Features of ISBL
• the Peterlee Relational Test Vehicle,
PRTV, has a query optimizer for ISBL
• Naming results: T = R JOIN S
• Lazy evaluation: T = N!R JOIN N!S
• LIST T
• 2-for-1 JOIN:
– Cartesian product if no shared attribute
names
– natural join if shared attribute names
• ISBL is relationally complete !

© Leo Mark 23
Relational Model
ISBL - an example query
FLT-SCHEDULE
FLT-INSTANCE
• “make a list of pairs of (FLT#1, FLT#2)

that form possible connections”
LIST(((FLT-SCHEDULE JOIN FLT-INSTANCE )

[FLT#FL1, FROM-AIRPORTCODE DA1,DTIME DT1, TO-
AIRPORTCODE AA1, ATIME AT1, DATE D1]) JOIN
(FLT-SCHEDULE JOIN FLT-INSTANCE) WHERE
D1=DATE AA1=FROM-AIRPORTCODE  AT1<
DTIME)[FL1, FLT#]

© Leo Mark 24
Relational Model
Relational Calculus
• the Relational Calculus is non-
procedural. It allows you to express
a result relation using a predicate on
tuple variables (tuple calculus):
{ t | P(t) }
or on domain variables (domain
calculus):
{ <x1, x2, ..., xn> | P(<x1, x2, ..., xn>) }
• you tell the system which result you

want, but not how to construct it

© Leo Mark 25
Relational Model
Tuple Calculus
• query expression: { t | P(t) } where P
is a predicate built from atoms
• range expression: t R denotes that t
is a member of R; so does R(t)
• attribute value: t.A denotes the value of
t on attribute A
• constant: c denotes a constant
• atoms: t R, r.A  s.B, or r.A  c
• comparison operators: Š < > ° =
• predicate: an atom is a predicate; if P1
and P2 are predicates, so are ¬(P1 )
and (P1 ), P1  P2, P1  P2, and P1  P2
• if P(t) is a predicate, t is a free variable
in P, and R is a relation then t
R(P(t)) andt R (P(t)) are predicates

© Leo Mark 26
Relational Model
Tuple Calculus
CUSTOMER
• { r |(rCUSTOMER} is infinite, or
unsafe
• a tuple calculus expression { r | P(r) } is

safe if all values that appear in the result
are from Dom(P), which is the set of
values that appear in P itself or in relations
mentioned in P

© Leo Mark 27
Relational Model
Selection
FLT-WEEKDAY
flt# weekday
• “find (FLT#, WEEKDAY) for all flights

scheduled for Mondays
{ t | FLT-WEEKDAY(t)  t.WEEKDAY=MO}

© Leo Mark 28
Relational Model
Projection
FLT-WEEKDAY
flt# weekday
• “find FLT# for all flights scheduled for

Mondays
{ t.FLT# | FLT-WEEKDAY(t)  t.WEEKDAY =
MO}

© Leo Mark 29
Relational Model
Union
FLT-WEEKDAY
flt# weekday
• “find the FLT# for flights that are

schedule for either Mondays, or
Tuesdays, or both”
{ t.FLT# | FLT-WEEKDAY(t) 
(t.WEEKDAY=MO t.WEEKDAY=TU)}

© Leo Mark 30
Relational Model
Intersection
FLT-WEEKDAY
flt# weekday

{ t.FLT# | FLT-WEEKDAY(t)
t.WEEKDAY=MO 
sFLT-WEEKDAY(s) t.FLT#=s.FLT# 
s.WEEKDAY=TU)}

© Leo Mark 31
Relational Model
Set Difference
FLT-WEEKDAY
flt# weekday

{ t.FLT# | FLT-WEEKDAY(t) 
t.WEEKDAY=MO  ((s) (FLT-
WEEKDAY(s) t.FLT#=s.FLT# 
s.WEEKDAY=TU))}

© Leo Mark 32
Relational Model
Cartesian Product
FLT-INSTANCE
CUSTOMER
RESERVATION
“make a list containing (FLT#, DATE, CUST#)

{s.FLT#, s.DATE, t.CUST# | FLT-INSTANCE(s) 

CUSTOMER(t) t.CITY=ROSWELL
s.FLT#=DL212 s.DATE=1998-09-
10rFLT-INSTANCE(r) r ° s 
r.FLT#=s.FLT#r.DATE=s.DATE
r.CUST#=t.CUST#)}

© Leo Mark 33
Relational Model
Natural Join
FLT-WEEKDAY
flt# weekday
FLT-INSTANCE

{ s.FLT#, s.WEEKDAY, t.DATE, t.PLANE#, t.#AVAIL-

SEATS | FLT-WEEKDAY(s)  FLT-INSTANCE(t) 
s.FLT#=t.FLT# }

© Leo Mark 34
Relational Model
-join
FLT-SCHEDULE
FLT-INSTANCE

{ s. FLT#, t.FLT# | FLT-SCHEDULE(s)  FLT-

SCHEDULE(t)  ((u)(v) FLT-INSTANCE(u) 
FLT-INSTANCE(v)  u.FLT#=s.FLT#  v.FLT#=t.FLT#
 u.DATE=v.DATE  s.TO-AIRPORTCODE=t.FROM-
AIRPORTCODE  s.ATIME < t.DTIME) }

© Leo Mark 35
Relational Model
Divideby
FLT-INSTANCE
RESERVATION
• “list the CUST# for customers that

have reservations on all flight
instances”
{ s.CUST# | RESERVATION(s)  (( t) FLT-

INSTANCE(t) ((r) RESERVATION(r) 
r.FLT#=t.FLT#  r.DATE=t.DATE 
r.CUST#=s.CUST#))}

© Leo Mark 36
Relational Model
QUEL - an example tuple
calculus
FLT-SCHEDULE
FLT-INSTANCE

range s is FLT-SCHEDULE
range t is FLT-SCHEDULE
range u is FLT-INSTANCE
range v is FLT-INSTANCE
retrieve into CON( s.FLT#, t.FLT#)
where u.FLT#=s.FLT# and v.FLT#=t.FLT# and
u.DATE=v.DATE and s.TO-AIRPORTCODE=t.FROM-
AIRPORTCODE and s.ATIME < t.DTIME;

© Leo Mark 37
Relational Model
QBE - Projection
FLT-WEEKDAY
FLT# WEEKDAY
P. =MONDAY
• “find FLT# for all flights scheduled for

Mondays

© Leo Mark 38
Relational Model
QBE - Union
FLT-WEEKDAY
FLT# WEEKDAY
P. MONDAY
P. TUESDAY

schedule for either Mondays, or
Tuesdays, or both”

© Leo Mark 39
Relational Model
QBE - Intersection
FLT-WEEKDAY
FLT# WEEKDAY
P._SX MONDAY
_SX TUESDAY


© Leo Mark 40
Relational Model
QBE - Set Difference
FLT-WEEKDAY
FLT# WEEKDAY
P._SX MONDAY
 _SX TUESDAY


© Leo Mark 41
Relational Model
QBE - Cartesian Product
CUSTOMER FLT-INSTANCE
#AVAIL-
CUST# CUST-NAME CITY FLT# DATE
P._C ROSWELL P._F P._D SEATS
_F 98-9-10
DL212 _D
RESERVATION
FLT# DATE CUST#

 _F _D _C
“make a list containing (FLT#, DATE, CUST#)


© Leo Mark 42
Relational Model
QBE - Natural Join
FLT-WEEKDAY FLT-INSTANCE
#AVAIL-
FLT# WEEKDAY
FLT# DATE
P._SX P. _SX P. P.
SEATS


© Leo Mark 43
Relational Model
QBE-join
FLT-SCHEDULE FROM- TO-
AIRPORT AIRPORT
FLT# AIRLINE CODE DTIME CODE ATIME PRICE
P._SX _A _AT
FLT-SCHEDULE FROM- TO-

AIRPORT AIRPORT
FLT# AIRLINE CODE DTIME CODE ATIME PRICE
P._SY _A _DT
FLT-INSTANCE
CONDITION
FLT# DATE #SEATS
_AT < _DT _SX _D
_SY _D
• “make a list of pairs of (FLT#1, FLT#2) that

form possible same day connections”

© Leo Mark 44
Relational Model
Views
• relational query languages are closed,
i.e., the result of a query is a relation
• a view is a named result of a query
• a view is a snapshot relation
• views can be used in other queries
and view definitions
• queries on views are evaluated by
query modification
• some views are updatable
• some views are not updatable
• more on views when we look at SQL

© Leo Mark 45
Relational Model

The Relational Model - Theoretical Foundation

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Database Group, Georgia Tech

Database Group, Georgia Tech

Database Group, Georgia Tech

Database Group, Georgia Tech

FLT# CUST# CUST-NAME

FLT# DATE CUST#

Database Group, Georgia Tech

Database Group, Georgia Tech

Database Group, Georgia Tech

• constructs for insertion are very

Database Group, Georgia Tech

• “insert into FLT-INSTANCE all flights

Database Group, Georgia Tech

• constructs for deletion are very

Database Group, Georgia Tech

• constructs for update are very

Database Group, Georgia Tech

Database Group, Georgia Tech

• “find (flt#, weekday) for all flights

Database Group, Georgia Tech

• “find flt# for all flights scheduled for

• the attributes in the attribute list

Database Group, Georgia Tech

• “find the flt# for flights that are schedule for

• the two operands must be "type compatible"

Database Group, Georgia Tech

• “find the flt# for flights that are

Database Group, Georgia Tech

• “find the flt# for flights that are

Database Group, Georgia Tech

“make a list containing (flt#, date, cust#)

Database Group, Georgia Tech

• “make a list with complete flight

Database Group, Georgia Tech

• “make a list of pairs of (FLT#1, FLT#2) that

d1=date aa1=from-airportcode  at1< dtime

Database Group, Georgia Tech

• “list the cust# of customers that

Database Group, Georgia Tech

Database Group, Georgia Tech

• ISBL is relationally complete !

Database Group, Georgia Tech

• “make a list of pairs of (FLT#1, FLT#2)

LIST(((FLT-SCHEDULE JOIN FLT-INSTANCE )

Database Group, Georgia Tech

• you tell the system which result you

Database Group, Georgia Tech

Database Group, Georgia Tech

• a tuple calculus expression { r | P(r) } is

Database Group, Georgia Tech

• “find (FLT#, WEEKDAY) for all flights

Database Group, Georgia Tech

• “find FLT# for all flights scheduled for

Database Group, Georgia Tech

• “find the FLT# for flights that are

Database Group, Georgia Tech

• “find the FLT# for flights that are

Database Group, Georgia Tech

• “find the FLT# for flights that are

Database Group, Georgia Tech

“make a list containing (FLT#, DATE, CUST#)

{s.FLT#, s.DATE, t.CUST# | FLT-INSTANCE(s) 