Relational Algebra

Creating and Accessing your database

Lecture 2
Relational Model
Basic Notions
Fundamental Relational Algebra Operations
Additional Relational Algebra Operations
Extended Relational Algebra Operations
Null Values
Modification of the Database
Views
Bags and Bag operations

Creating and accessing Mysql database
Each student has database creating for him/her at server hercules
To access the very first time do as follows:
>ssh -l <userid> hercules
System responds
>enter password
>your <password at CS system>
> mysql -u <userid> -p
>Enter password
> <enter the password that are given to you for the database
>mysql password=password(new password)

Accessing Your MySQL Database
First you create <name>.sql file as follows for example:

use S10_<your database>;
create table customers( customerid int unsigned not null auto_increment primary key, name char(50) not null,
address char(100) not null,
city char(30) not null);

create table orders ( orderid int unsigned not null auto_increment primary key,
customerid int unsigned not null, amount float(6,2),
date date not null);

create table books ( isbn char(13) not null primary key,
author char (50),
title char(100),
price float(4,2) );

create table order_items ( orderid int unsigned not null, isbn char (13) not null,
quantity tinyint unsigned,
primary key (orderid, isbn));

create table book_reviews ( isbn char(13) not null primary key,
review text);
2. In shell submit command: mysql -u <userid> -D <databaseName> -p < <yourfile>.sql



Basic Structure
Formally, given sets D
1
, D
2
, . D
n
a relation r is a subset of
D
1
x D
2
x x D
n

Thus, a relation is a set of n-tuples (a
1
, a
2
, , a
n
) where each a
i
e D
i

Example:
customer_name = {Jones, Smith, Curry, Lindsay}
customer_street = {Main, North, Park}
customer_city = {Harrison, Rye, Pittsfield}
Then r = { (Jones, Main, Harrison),
(Smith, North, Rye),
(Curry, North, Rye),
(Lindsay, Park, Pittsfield) }
is a relation over
customer_name , customer_street, customer_city
Attribute Types
Each attribute of a relation has a name
The set of allowed values for each attribute is called the
domain of the attribute
Attribute values are (normally) required to be atomic; that
is, indivisible
Note: multivalued attribute values are not atomic
({secretary. clerk}) is example of multivalued attribute
position
Note: composite attribute values are not atomic
The special value null is a member of every domain
The null value causes complications in the definition of
many operations
We shall ignore the effect of null values in our main
presentation and consider their effect later
Relation Schema
A
1
, A
2
, , A
n
are attributes

R = (A
1
, A
2
, , A
n
) is a relation schema
Example:
Customer_schema = (customer_name, customer_street,
customer_city)

r(R) is a relation on the relation schema R
Example:
customer (Customer_schema)
Relation Instance
The current values (relation instance) of a relation are
specified by a table
An element t of r is a tuple, represented by a row in a
table
Jones
Smith
Curry
Lindsay
customer_name
Main
North
North
Park
customer_street
Harrison
Rye
Rye
Pittsfield
customer_city
customer
attributes
(or columns)
tuples
(or rows)
Database
A database consists of multiple relations
Information about an enterprise is broken up into parts,
with each relation storing one part of the information
account : stores information about accounts
depositor : stores information about which customer
owns which account
customer : stores information about customers
Storing all information as a single relation such as
bank(account_number, balance, customer_name, ..)
results in repetition of information (e.g., two customers
own an account) and the need for null values (e.g.,
represent a customer without an account)
Keys
Let K _ R
K is a superkey of R if values for K are sufficient to identify
a unique tuple of each possible relation r(R)
by possible r we mean a relation r that could exist in
the enterprise we are modeling.
Example: {customer_name, customer_street} and
{customer_name}
are both superkeys of Customer, if no two customers can
possibly have the same name.
K is a candidate key if K is minimal
Example: {customer_name} is a candidate key for.
Primary Key
Keys
Candidate
keys
Primary key
K
Superkeys
Query Languages
Language in which user requests information from the
database.
Categories of languages
Procedural
Non-procedural, or declarative
Pure Procedural languages:
Relational algebra
Tuple relational calculus
Domain relational calculus
Pure languages form underlying basis of query languages
that people use.
What is algebra
Mathematical model consisting of:
Operands --- Variables or values;
Operators --- Symbols denoting procedures that
construct new values from a given values
Relational Algebra is algebra whose operands are
relations and operators are designed to do the most
commons things that we need to do with relations
Basic Relational Algebra Operations
Select
Project
Union
Set Difference (or Substract or minus)
Cartesian Product
Select Operation
Notation: o
p
(r)
p is called the selection predicate
Defined as:
o
p
(r) = {t | t e r and p(t)}
Where p is a formula in propositional calculus
consisting of terms connected by : . (and), v (or),
(not)
Each term is one of:
<attribute>op <attribute> or <constant>
where op is one of: =, =, >, >. <. s
Example of selection:
Account(account_number, branch_name,balance)
o
branch-name=Perryridge
(account)
Select Operation Example
Relation r A B C D
o
o
|
|
o
|
|
|
1
5
12
23
7
7
3
10
o
A=B ^ D > 5
(r)
A B C D
o
|
o
|
1
23
7
10
Project Operation
Notation:

[
A1, A2, , Ak
(r)
where A
1
, A
2
are attribute names and r is a relation.
The result is defined as the relation of k columns obtained
by erasing the columns that are not listed
Duplicate rows removed from result, since relations are sets
E.g. to eliminate the branch-name attribute of account
[
account-number, balance
(account)

If relation Account contains 50 tuples, how many tuples contains
[
account-number, balance
(account) ?
If relation Account contains 50 tuples, how many tuples contains
[
, balance
(account) ?
Project Operation Example
Relation r:
A B C
o
o
|
|
10
20
30
40
1
1
1
2
A C
o
o
|
|
1
1
1
2
=
A C
o
|
|
1
1
2
[
A,C
(r)
That is, the projection of
a relation on a set of
attributes is a set of tuples
Union Operation
Consider relational schemas:
Depositor(customer_name, account_number)
Borrower(customer_name, loan_number)
For r s to be valid.
1. r, s must have the same number of attributes
2. The attribute domains must be compatible (e.g., 2nd
column of r deals with the same type of values as does the
2nd column of s)
Find all customers with either an account or a loan
[
customer-name
(depositor) [
customer-name
(borrower)
Union Operation
Notation: r s
Defined as:
r s = {t | t e r or t e s}

Union Operation Example
Relations r, s:
r s:
A B
o
o
|
1
2
1
A B
o
|
2
3
r
s
A B
o
o
|
|
1
2
1
3
Set Difference Operation
Notation r s
Defined as:
r s = {t | t e r and t e s}
Set differences must be taken between compatible
relations.
r and s must have the same number of attributes
attribute domains of r and s must be compatible

Set Difference Operation Example
Relations r, s:
r s:
A B
o
o
|
1
2
1
A B
o
|
2
3
s
A B
o
|
1
1
r
Cartesian-Product Operation
Notation r x s
Defined as:
r x s = {t q | t e r and q e s}
Assume that attributes of r(R) and s(S) are disjoint. (That
is, R S = C ).
If attributes of r(R) and s(S) are not disjoint, then renaming
must be used.
Cartesian-Product Operation-Example
Relations r, s:
r x s:
A B
o
|
1
2
A B
o
o
o
o
|
|
|
|
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
C D
o
|
|

o
|
|

10
10
20
10
10
10
20
10
E
a
a
b
b
a
a
b
b
C D
o
|
|

10
10
20
10
E
a
a
b
b
r
s
Composition of Operations
Can build expressions using multiple operations
Example: o
A=C
(r x s)
r x s






o
A=C
(r x s)
A B
o
o
o
o
|
|
|
|
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
C D
o
|
|

o
|
|

10
10
20
10
10
10
20
10
E
a
a
b
b
a
a
b
b
A B C D E
o
|
|
1
2
2
o
|
|
10
20
20
a
a
b
Rename Operation
Allows us to name, and therefore to refer to, the results of
relational-algebra expressions.
Allows us to refer to a relation by more than one name.
Example:

X
(E)
returns the expression E under the name X
If a relational-algebra expression E has arity n, then

(A1, A2, , An)
(E)
returns the result of expression E under the name X, and with
the attributes renamed to A1, A2, ., An.

x
x
Banking Example
branch (branch-name, branch-city, assets)

customer (customer-name, customer-street, customer-
city)

account (account-number, branch-name, balance)

loan (loan-number, branch-name, amount)

depositor (customer-name, account-number)

borrower (customer-name, loan-number)
Example Queries
Find all loans of over $1200

Find the loan number for each loan of an amount greater than
$1200

o
amount > 1200
(loan)

[
loan-number
(o
amount

> 1200
(loan))


Additional Operations
We define additional operations that do not add any power
to the relational algebra, but that simplify common queries.
Set intersection
Natural join
Division
Assignment
Set-Intersection Operation
Notation: r s
Defined as:
r s ={ t | t e r and t e s }
Assume:
r, s have the same arity
attributes of r and s are compatible
Note: r s = r - (r - s)
Set-Intersection Operation - Example
Relation r, s:



r s
A B
o
o
|
1
2
1
A B
o
|
2
3
r s
A B
o 2
Notation: r s
Natural-Join Operation
Let r and s be relations on schemas R and S respectively.
Then, r s is a relation on schema R S obtained as follows:
Consider each pair of tuples t
r
from r and t
s
from s.
If t
r
and t
s
have the same value on each of the attributes in R
S, add a tuple t to the result, where
t has the same value as t
r
on r
t has the same value as t
s
on s
Example:
R = (A, B, C, D)
S = (E, B, D)
Result schema = (A, B, C, D, E)
r s is defined as:
[
r.A, r.B, r.C, r.D, s.E
(o
r.B = s.B
.
r.D = s.D
(r x s))
Natural Join Operation Example
Relations r, s:
A B
o
|

o
o
1
2
4
1
2
C D
o

|

|
a
a
b
a
b
B
1
3
1
2
3
D
a
a
a
b
b
E
o
|

o
e
r
A B
o
o
o
o
o
1
1
1
1
2
C D
o
o


|
a
a
a
a
b
E
o

o

o
s
r s
Division Operation
Suited to queries that include the phrase for all.
Let r and s be relations on schemas R and S
respectively where
R = (A
1
, , A
m
, B
1
, , B
n
)
S = (B
1
, , B
n
)
The result of r s is a relation on schema
R S = (A
1
, , A
m
)

r s = { t | t e [
R-S
(r) . u e s ( tu e r ) }
r s
Notation:
Division Operation Example
Relations r, s:
r s:
A
B
o
|
1
2
A B
o
o
o
|

o
o
o
e
e
|
1
2
3
1
1
1
3
4
6
1
2
r
s
Another Division Example
A B
o
o
o
|
|



a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
C D
o






|
a
a
b
a
b
a
b
b
E
1
1
1
1
3
1
1
1
Relations r, s:
r s:
D
a
b
E
1
1
A B
o

a
a
C


r
s
Division Operation
Definition in terms of the basic algebra operation
Let r(R) and s(S) be relations, and let S _ R

r s = [
R-S
(r) [
R-S
( ([
R-S
(r) x s) [
R-S,S
(r))

To see why
[
R-S,S
(r) simply reorders attributes of r

[
R-S
([
R-S
(r) x s) [
R-S,S
(r)) gives those tuples t in

[
R-S
(r) such that for some tuple u e s, tu e r.

Assignment Operation
The assignment operation () provides a convenient
way to express complex queries.
Write query as a sequential program consisting of
a series of assignments
followed by an expression whose value is
displayed as a result of the query.
Assignment must always be made to a temporary
relation variable.
Example: Write r s as
temp1

[
R-S
(r)
temp2 [
R-S
((temp1 x s) [
R-S,S
(r))
result = temp1 temp2
Example Queries
Find the names of all customers who have a loan, an
account, or both, from the bank
Find the names of all customers who have a loan and an
account at bank.
[
customer-name
(borrower) [
customer-name
(depositor)

[
customer-name
(borrower) [
customer-name
(depositor)


Example Queries
Find the names of all customers who have a loan at the
Perryridge branch.
Find the names of all customers who have a loan at the
Perryridge branch but do not have an account at any branch of the
bank.
[
customer-name
(o
branch-name = Perryridge

(o
borrower.loan-number = loan.loan-number
(borrower x loan)))
[
customer-name
(depositor)
[
customer-name
(o
branch-name=Perryridge

(o
borrower.loan-number = loan.loan-number
(borrower x loan)))







Example Queries
Find the largest account balance
1. Rename account relation as d
2. The query is:

[
balance
(account) - [
account.balance

(o
account.balance < d.balance
(account x
d
(account)))
Example Queries
Employee(ename,street,city)
Works(ename,cname,salary)
Company(cname,city)
Manages(ename,mname)
Find the names of all employees who live in
the same city and on the same street as do
their managers

Find the names of all employees who earn
more than every employee of BankOne
Example Queries


[
cname
(o
str=mstr&city=mcity
(employee (ename,mstr,mcity)(manages)))



Example Queries
Find all customers who have an account from the
Downtown and the Uptown branches.
where CN denotes customer-name and BN denotes
branch-name.

Query 1
[
CN
(o
BN=Downtown
(depositor account))
[
CN
(o
BN=Uptown
(depositor account))
Query 2
[
customer-name, branch-name

(depositor account)

temp(branch-name)
({(Downtown), (Uptown)})
Find all customers who have an account at all branches
located in Brooklyn city.
Example Queries
[
customer-name, branch-name
(depositor account)
[
branch-name
(o
branch-city = Brooklyn
(branch))
Extended Relational-Algebra-Operations
Generalized Projection
Outer Join
Aggregate Functions
Generalized Projection
Extends the projection operation by allowing arithmetic
functions to be used in the projection list.

[
F1, F2, , Fn
(E)
E is any relational-algebra expression
Each of F
1
, F
2
, , F
n
are are arithmetic expressions
involving constants and attributes in the schema of E.
Given relation credit-info(customer-name, limit, credit-
balance), find how much more each person can spend:
[
customer-name, limit credit-balance
(credit-info)
Aggregate Functions and Operations
Aggregation function takes a collection of values and
returns a single value as a result.
avg: average value
min: minimum value
max: maximum value
sum: sum of values
count: number of values
Aggregate operation in relational algebra

G1, G2, , Gn
g
F1( A1), F2( A2),, Fn( An)
(E)
E is any relational-algebra expression
G
1
, G
2
, G
n
is a list of attributes on which to group
(can be empty)
Each F
i
is an aggregate function
Each A
i
is an attribute name
Aggregate Operation Example
Relation
r:
A B
o
o
|
|
o
|
|
|
C
7
7
3
10
g
sum(c)

(r)
sum-C
27
Aggregate Operation Example
Relation account grouped by branch-name:
branch-name
g
sum(balance)
(account)
branch-name account-number balance
Perryridge
Perryridge
Brighton
Brighton
Redwood
A-102
A-201
A-217
A-215
A-222
400
900
750
750
700
branch-name balance
Perryridge
Brighton
Redwood
1300
1500
700
Aggregate Functions
Result of aggregation does not have a name
Can use rename operation to give it a name
For convenience, we permit renaming as part of
aggregate operation


branch-name
g
sum(balance) as sum-balance
(account)
Outer Join Example
Relation loan
Relation borrower
customer-name loan-number
Jones
Smith
Hayes
L-170
L-230
L-155
3000
4000
1700
loan-number amount
L-170
L-230
L-260
branch-name
Downtown
Redwood
Perryridge
Outer Join
An extension of the join operation that avoids loss of
information.
Computes the join and then adds tuples form one relation
that does not match tuples in the other relation to the result
of the join.
Uses null values:
null signifies that the value is unknown or does not exist
All comparisons involving null are (roughly speaking)
false by definition.
We shall study precise meaning of comparisons with
nulls later
Left Outer Join
Join

loan Borrower
loan-number amount
L-170
L-230
3000
4000
customer-name
Jones
Smith
branch-name
Downtown
Redwood
Jones
Smith
null
loan-number amount
L-170
L-230
L-260
3000
4000
1700
customer-name branch-name
Downtown
Redwood
Perryridge
Left Outer Join
loan Borrower
Right Outer Join, Full Outer Join
Right Outer Join
loan borrower
loan borrower
Outer Join
loan-number amount
L-170
L-230
L-155
3000
4000
null
customer-name
Jones
Smith
Hayes
branch-name
Downtown
Redwood
null
loan-number amount
L-170
L-230
L-260
L-155
3000
4000
1700
null
customer-name
Jones
Smith
null
Hayes
branch-name
Downtown
Redwood
Perryridge
null
Null Values
It is possible for tuples to have a null value, denoted by
null, for some of their attributes
null signifies an unknown value or that a value does not
exist.
The result of any arithmetic expression involving null is
null.
Aggregate functions simply ignore null values
For duplicate elimination and grouping, null is treated like
any other value, and two nulls are assumed to be the same
Null Values
Comparisons with null values return the special truth value
unknown
If false was used instead of unknown, then not (A < 5)
would not be equivalent to A >= 5
Three-valued logic using the truth value unknown:
OR: (unknown or true) = true,
(unknown or false) = unknown
(unknown or unknown) = unknown
AND: (true and unknown) = unknown,
(false and unknown) = false,
(unknown and unknown) = unknown
NOT: (not unknown) = unknown
Result of select predicate is treated as false if it evaluates
to unknown
Modification of the Database
The content of the database may be
modified using the following operations:
Deletion
Insertion
Updating
All these operations are expressed using
the assignment operator.
Deletion
A delete request is expressed similarly to a query,
except instead of displaying tuples to the user, the
selected tuples are removed from the database.
Can delete only whole tuples; cannot delete values on
only particular attributes
A deletion is expressed in relational algebra by:
r r E
where r is a relation and E is a relational algebra
query.
Deletion Examples
Delete all account records in the Perryridge branch.
Delete all accounts at branches located in Needham.
r
1
o

branch_city = Needham
(account branch )
r
2
[
branch_name, account_number, balance
(r
1
)
r
3
[
customer_name, account_number
(r
2
depositor)
account account r
2

depositor depositor r
3

Delete all loan records with amount in the range of 0 to 50
loan loan o
amount > 0 and amount s 50
(loan)
account account o
branch_name = Perryridge
(account )

Insertion
To insert data into a relation, we either:
specify a tuple to be inserted
write a query whose result is a set of tuples to be
inserted
in relational algebra, an insertion is expressed by:
r r E
where r is a relation and E is a relational algebra
expression.
The insertion of a single tuple is expressed by letting E be
a constant relation containing one tuple.
Insertion Examples
Insert information in the database specifying that Smith
has $1200 in account A-973 at the Perryridge branch.
Provide as a gift for all loan customers in the Perryridge
branch, a $200 savings account. Let the loan number serve
as the account number for the new savings account.
account account {(Perryridge, A-973, 1200)}
depositor depositor {(Smith, A-973)}
r
1
(o
branch_name = Perryridge
(borrower loan))
account account [
branch_name, loan_number,200
(r
1
)
depositor depositor [
customer_name, loan_number
(r
1
)
Updating
A mechanism to change a value in a tuple without changing
all values in the tuple
Use the generalized projection operator to do this task


Each F
i
is either
the i
th
attribute of r, if the i
th
attribute is not updated, or,
if the attribute is to be updated F
i
is an expression,
involving only constants and the attributes of r, which
gives the new value for the attribute
) (
, , , ,
2 1
r r
l
F F F
[
Update Examples
Make interest payments by increasing all balances by 5
percent.
Pay all accounts with balances over $10,000 6 percent interest
and pay all others 5 percent
account [
account_number, branch_name, balance * 1.06
(o
BAL > 10000
(account ))
[
account_number, branch_name, balance * 1.05
(o
BAL s 10000
(account))

account [
account_number, branch_name, balance * 1.05
(account)
Expression Trees
Leaves are operands --- either variables standing for relations or
particular relations

Interior nodes are operators applied to their descendents
[
customer-name, branch-name


depositor account
Exercises
Employee(ename,str,city)
Works(ename,cname,sal)
Company(cname,city)
Manages(ename,mname)
Joe Pine Kent
Mike Pine Canton


Employee
Carol Oak Kent

Matt Main Cleveland
Lucy Pine Kent
Sean Pine Kent
Manages
Joe Lucy
Mike Lucy
Carol Matt
Lucy Matt
Sean Lucy
Works
Joe GE 30K
Mike GE 100K
Lucy GE 60K
Sean GE 40K
Carol GE 70K
Matt GE 40K
Company
GE Cleveland
IBM NYC
Find names of employees that live in the same city
and the same street as their managers
Employee Manages:

Joe Pine Kent Lucy
Mike Pine Canton Lucy
Carol Oak Kent Matt
Lucy Pine Kent Matt
Sean Pine Kent Lucy
(Employee Manages) Employee2
Where mname=employee2.ename & street =employee2.street & city=employee2.street
T
Joe Pine Kent Lucy Pine Kent
Mike Pine Canton Lucy Pine Kent
Carol Oak Kent Matt Main Cleveland
Lucy Pine Kent Matt Main Cleveland
Sean Pine Kent Lucy Pine Kent
Joe Pine Kent Lucy Pine Kent
Sean Pine Kent Lucy Pine Kent

Project on ename: Joe
Sean
Find Employees that make more than their managers

Works Manages:

Joe GE 30K Lucy
Mike GE 100K Lucy
Carol GE 70K Matt
Lucy GE 60K Matt
Sean GE 40K Lucy
(Works Manages) Works2
Where mname=works2.ename &salary >works2.salary
T
Joe GE 30K Lucy GE 60K
Mike GE 100K Lucy GE 60K
Carol GE 70K Matt GE 40K
Lucy GE 60K Matt GE 40K
Sean GE 40K Lucy GE 60K



Project on ename: Mike
Carol
Lucy
Mike GE 100K Lucy GE 60K
Carol GE 70K Matt GE 40K
Lucy GE 60K Matt GE 40K
Find all employees who make more money than any other
employee


Works Works2
Joe GE 30K Mike GE 100K
Joe GE 30K Carol GE 70K
Joe GE 30K Lucy GE 60K
Joe GE 30K Sean GE 40K
Joe GE 30K Matt GE 40K
Lucy GE 60K Carol GE 70K
Lucy GE 60K Mike GE 100K
Sean GE 40K Mike GE 100K
Sean GE 40K Carol GE 70K
Sean GE 40K Lucy GE 60K
Carol GE 70K Mike GE 100K
Matt GE 40K Mike GE 100K
Matt GE 40K Carol GE 70K
Matt GE 40K Lucy GE 60K



Where sal<works2.sal
Project on ename: Joe
Lucy
Sean
Carol
Matt

Project Works on ename: Joe
Lucy
Sean
Carol
Mike
Matt
Substract from first projection the second one: Mike
Find all employees that live in the same city as their company

Project on ename: Matt

Matt GE 40K Cleveland Main Cleveland



Works Company Employee
Cname=company.cname &ename=employee.ename & city=works.city
Relational Algebra on Bags
A bag is like a set but it allows elements to
be repeated in a set.
Example: {1, 2, 1, 3, 2, 5, 2} is a bag.
Difference between a bag and a list is that
order is not important in a bag.
Example: {1, 2, 1, 3, 2, 5, 2} and
{1,1,2,3,2,2,5} is the same bag


Need for Bags
SQL allows relations with repeated tuples. Thus SQL is
not a relational algebra but rather bag algebra
In SQL one need to specifically ask to remove duplicates,
otherwise replicated tuples will not be eliminated
Operation projection is more efficient on bags than on sets

Operations on Bags
Select applies to each tuple and no duplicates are
eliminated
Project also applies to each tuple and duplicates are not
eliminated. Example

A B C
1 2 3
1 2 5
2 3 7

Projection on A, B
A B
1 2
1 2
2 3
Other Bag Operations
An element in the union appears the number of times it
appears in both bags
Example: {1, 2, 3, 1} UNION {1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1} =
{1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4}
An element appears in the intersection of two bags is the
minimum of the number of times it appears in either.
Example (cont): {1, 2, 3, 1} INTERSECTION
{1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1} = {1, 1, 2, 3}
An element appears in the difference of two bags A and B
as it appears in A minus the number of times it appears in
B but never less that 0 times



Bag Laws
Not all laws for set operations are valid for bags:
Commutative law for union does hold for bags:
R UNION S = S UNION R
However S union S = S for sets and it is not equal to S if S
is a bag