8 Object-Role Modelling PDF

8
Object-role modelling

Perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add,
but when there is no longer anything to take away.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery, French author
Overview
In the real world of information technology databases come with dozens of fields arranged into
many tables. Databases also have to interact with each other, with many users and perhaps with
a variety of operating systems. The only way this can happen with any degree of reliability and
certainty is if they are carefully designed, well set up, and effectively maintained.
We are now at the point of finding out the best way to develop the tables that make up
databases. In doing this we will follow the advice of Saint-Exupery above. We will look for the
essence of what is needed and reduce everything else to a minimum. We may not find
perfection but we will develop an effective information system.
In this unit we will investigate:
problems with flat-file databases
elementary sentences and conceptual schema diagrams
relationships between data
constraints on relationships
normalisation
the role of virtual communities.
Introduction
So far we have looked at several databases, for example the Repairs database with tables for
devices, technicians, and so on. These databases however are a logical abstraction. A real world
situation has been reduced to a set of relational tables that have been entered into an
information system. When the tables are in the system we can add data, query them, develop
reports and so on to derive meaningful information, but the tables are not reality. They are just
a way of representing the real world in a manageable way.
Kevin Savage 2011 Single user licence issued to Mitchell Ingall
Leading Technology 244

To move from reality to this abstraction we will go through a process called object role
modelling (ORM). This process will quickly and efficiently produce a set of database tables in
optimal (best) normal form. It is not difficult to use when it is understood, but that will only
come after some effort.
Much of the process of normalisation that we will go through will have to be taken on trust,
especially the early stages. We are going to look at an involved procedure that will not mean
much until we can see it in its entirety. As we go you will be expected to carry out activities
that may seem irrelevant at first. Complete the reading, exercises and activities as we go and
accept that in the end you will develop a very useful skill, if you hang in there.
Before we start however we will see why we do not just put all of the information into just one
table. An information system with just one table is known as a flat-file database.
Problems with flat-file databases
A flat-file database is inefficient and can lead to problems with maintaining the integrity of
data. To see this we will look at a single table database that contains pet and owner information
for a vet. This table has the following fields:
Customer Data (surname, first name, address, suburb, phone, pet name, pet type,
pet age, amount owing, last visit)
The table is called Customer Data and it has ten fields (surname, first name, etc.). When the
database is populated the table holds data arranged into a record for each client.

Part of the Customer Data table in the Vet database
This looks to be a perfectly reasonable arrangement of data. What could be simpler than having
everything we want in the one place?
Unfortunately this placing all fields into the one table leads to some problems.
What if Mary Crothers brings a second pet, her cat Macavity, to see the vet? We now have to
re-enter all of the other information about Mary, such as her address, phone, and so on, even
though it is already in the database. Having to re-enter data that is already recorded is not such
a big problem with a simple data set such as we have here, but for an information system with
thousands of records it can be very inefficient. The redundant data takes time to enter and takes
up storage space.
Object-role modelling 245

There is another difficulty with this situation too. The key field in this table is surname in the
example above, the surname Crothers uniquely identifies the set of data contained in the first
record. If we add a new record for the second pet we no longer have a key for this table.
Crothers does not identify whether the information in a record is about Sprout the guinea pig or
Macavity the cat. To solve this problem we would have to make a new key for the table. (How
might this be done?)
Recording the same data more than once can lead to further problems. We will explore these by
following a sequence of events.
Say Cath Darkin has three pets in the database, and she moves from Middle Ridge to South
Park. Now, not only did we originally have to enter all of her address data three times, but now
we have to change it three times. This is inefficient.
Next, perhaps the receptionist was in a hurry and when he updated Caths information he
missed one of the phone numbers:
Darkin Cath 15a Kyle St South Park 4639987 Socks cat 3 $62.40 5-05-10
Darkin Cath 15a Kyle St South Park 4639987 Alf galah 14 $23.10 18-03-10
Darkin Cath 15a Kyle St South Park 4356984 Bowser dog 2 $0.00 12-12-09
We now have the confusing situation of not knowing which record to believe. Cath lives in
Kyle St, South Park, but is her phone number 4639987 or is it 4356984? We have no way of
telling.
The situation where one record is changed but another is not, so that they disagree with one
another, is called an update anomaly. Update anomalies cause major problems in large
databases that have been poorly designed. If, on searching through ten thousand records, say
you are presented with three different prices for exactly the same product which do you
believe? The data is unreliable. No matter how reputable or expensive a database is, if the data
in it is unreliable, the database is useless.
Our problems with this flat-file database are not yet over. Alice Donovan has just phoned to tell
Dr Harry that her spaniel Barkley has died. This is very sad, but since Alice owes no money the
receptionist removes Barkleys record from the database.
A week later Dr Harry learns of a litter of spaniel pups looking for a home. He thinks of Alice
and decides to phone her to see if she would want one as a replacement for Barkley. Looking in
the database however he cannot find Alices phone number. When the receptionist deleted
Barkleys record he deleted all of Alices address information too! (Fortunately Dr Harry sees
Alice down the street the next day and arranges for her to get the puppy.)
We have now seen the four problems that can arise with a poorly designed database:
redundancy the fact that Mary Crothers lives at 160 Drayton Rd, Southbrook, phone
4909547 is recorded for every pet she has
inefficiency if we have to change the information recorded about Mary we have to
do it in every record
update anomalies if in changing the same information in different records we make
a mistake, as with Caths phone number, the data will be inconsistent and hence
unreliable

data loss if we delete a record such as Barkleys, we lose all of the information it
holds, not just the parts we no longer want.
Perhaps a flat-file database is not the best way to organise information, especially if we have
hundreds, or even thousands of records, in dozens of fields. The question now arises, how can
we design a data set so these problems do not occur? (The answer to this question will occupy
much of this unit!)
Let us look at a better way of arranging the data. To do this we will divide it into three tables in
such a way that each fact is only recorded once:
Owner (surname, first name, address, suburb, phone)
Pet (pet name, pet type, pet age, amount owing)
Visit (surname, pet name, last visit)
Instead of being all in one table the information would now be arranged like this:

Does this solve the problems? Lets look at each in turn:
no redundancy Marys contact information is recorded once only; the data does not
have to be entered for each pet in the database
no inefficiency if we have to change address information we only have to do it in
one place
no update anomalies since each fact is recorded only once, the data changes can
only be made in the one place, and so it cannot be inconsistent
no data loss if we delete the information about Barkley we do not lose the contact
information for Alice.
This is a much better design. To get to this arrangement of fields we will use the ORM process.
With ORM we organise the fields into tables so that each fact is only recorded once with no
loss of data. The data is now in optimal normal form (ONF), or we say it has been normalised.
surname first name address suburb phone
Crothers Mary 160 Drayton Rd Southbrook 4909547
Curtis Alexandra 13 Faith Crt Middle Ridge 4387114
Darkin Cath 123 J ull Av Middle Ridge 4356984
Donovan Alice 15 Aruma Drv University Hgts 4352638
, etc.
pet name pet type age owing
Sprout guinea pig 2 $23.10
Sophie snake 5 $45.80
Socks cat 3 $62.40
Barkley dog 3 $0.00
, etc.
surname pet name last visit
Crothers Sprout 9-07-10
Curtis Sophie 5-11-10
Darkin Socks 5-05-10
Donovan Barkley 2-06-09
, etc

We will explore ORM shortly but for now note that the three tables are related. Each table has
at least one field from another table. We have solved each of the problems listed above by
arranging the data into a relational database.
To handle relational databases we will need more skill than with a flat-file database, but we
have a more reliable, more effective, and more efficient way of handling the data.
Activity 8.1 Video store
The video store flat-file database has been poorly designed and only has one table:
Video (title, category, hire period, cost, rating, member number, due date)
Use this table to answer the following questions.
1. a What is the name of the table?
b How many fields are there in the table?
c Which field acts as a key to the table?
d Give an example of one possible record of data from the table.
2. Explain what each of the following means:
a redundant
b inefficient
c update anomaly
d related field.
3. Using the table above create a set of data to populate it (3-4 rows) so that you can give
examples to show how each of the following might occur:
a The storage of redundant information.
b Inefficiencies in maintaining the data set.
c An update anomaly.
d Data loss.
Explain with reference to your data set how each of these could occur.
4. Rearrange the fields in the video database into separate, related tables so that the problems
listed in 3 above do not occur.
ORM
In designing an information system we will model a real world situation in an abstract way.
This model must represent an accurate but simplified form of reality that can be manipulated to
produce the most efficient way of handling data. Object role modelling is one way to develop a
simple, thorough description of how information is to be represented.
The ORM method consists of the following six steps:
investigate the given situation and develop a set of elementary sentences that describe
it

from the elementary sentences draw the conceptual schema diagram
simplify the diagram by eliminating surplus entities and by indicating derived facts
add constraints to the diagram
establish table groups
form named tables and indicate keys and other relevant information.
We will use conceptual schema (CS) diagrams as part of ORM to show data and the
relationships between data.

Part of the School conceptual schema
However, before we can start our ORM, we must impose limitations and qualifications on the
real world, and make assumptions about the data.
The UoD
The limitations are the parts of the real world we select to model in our system. What we
choose to include in our model, and what we choose to leave out, forms a Universe of
Discourse (UoD).
In one case we might restrict detail to students in a school and not the teachers, in another we
might include a stocktake for a business but exclude invoicing, or we might decide to maintain
data about males but not females. In each case we set the UoD for the given system. The UoD
is the part of the real world a system designer selects to be part of an information system.
To determine the UoD we can investigate all of the input and output currently produced by the
system. (If all aspects of a system can be established this way the set of documents we
investigate is described as being significant.) We may also interview a UoD expert. This is
simply anyone who knows the current system well. This may be a key person like an
accountant, a chef, or an administrator of the enterprise. These are the people who are aware of
the flow of data and they can point out what is required, what is important and, just as
importantly, what is not needed.
In addition to limitations there are also qualifications that have to be made to transfer a real
world situation into an information system.
The qualifications are the level to which we will develop our model. For example, while it is
possible to see a connection between age and salary (older people are usually paid more), we
will generally ignore relationships of this tenuous type. In these cases we will either consult the
UoD expert or make assumptions as to what is relevant. At times we will also need to make
Student
(name)
studies Subject
(code)
is studied
by
achieves Result
(%)
is for

assumptions to simplify our task or to make our task manageable. For example we might
assume only one phone number is recorded for a business, or that all employees work overtime.
By placing limits and qualifications, and by making assumptions, we will select only a part of
the real world. We will necessarily lose detail. The skill in ORM is to embody the essence of
what is reality in forming the UoD of the information system we are building. This must be
done without losing important or key aspects that might alter the sense of what we are
modelling, and so must be done carefully and precisely.
Elementary facts
The first part of ORM is to establish elementary facts from the selected UoD. These are very
simple statements that indicate the roles played by the objects that the system deals with.
Elementary indicates something cannot be split into smaller units of information; and fact
indicates that we accept the given data as true.
From the CS diagram shown above some elementary facts might be:
Arnold studies French
Mary achieves 80%
IPT is studied by J im
Elementary facts state, in the simplest possible way, the relationships between things in the
UoD.
Look at the following partial output from a school sports carnival:
name event place house points
Smith,J 100m 1st Red 5
J ones,P 200m 2nd Blue 3
Bloggs,F 100m 2nd Red 3
Smith,J 200m 1st Red 5
: : : : :
A fact from the table might be:
Bloggs,F from Red house was 2nd in the 100m and earned 3 points
(Note: we are not concerned whether the data is true or not we accept it as a fact.)
This fact however is not elementary. It can be split into smaller units of information:
Bloggs,F in running the 100m was 2nd
Bloggs,F belongs to Red house
Red house gained 3 points for the 100m
These are now elementary facts. To split any of these any further would result in a loss of
information.
If we did try to split it further we might say:
Bloggs,F ran the 100m
but the information about place is lost, or:
Red house gained 3 points
but the information about which event this was for is lost.
... etc.

To repeat, an elementary fact is the simplest possible statement of the relationships between
data that does not result in the loss of information. In developing elementary facts we must
ensure each is as plain and clear a statement as possible, without losing meaning.
An elementary fact should be specific and must avoid the use of words such as and or not. (And
suggests a statement can be split into two, while an information system usually does not record
negative facts.)
From facts to sentences
Once we have worked out the elementary facts in a UoD we convert them into elementary
sentences. An elementary sentence is a formalised statement of an elementary fact. It deals with
the entities in an information system.
Entities
An entity is anything that has characteristics and can be recognised as a unit.
To be an entity an object must represent a class of things, as are shown by the following:
student, address, salary are entities each is a single recognisable type of an object
that can be described
colour, score, position are still entities even though they are abstract and not physical
people, animals, furniture are not entities these are vague and general
Mike Smith, 4567543, and 12-8-00 are also not entities these are specific instances
or examples of an entity.
Identifying the entities in a UoD to form elementary facts about them is the first step in ORM.
Reference mode
Entities can act in relation to other entities. Take the elementary fact stated earlier:
Arnold studies French
In this fact we have two objects (Arnold and French) and one relationship (studies).
But what about the following elementary fact:
the French speak French
Here we have two different types of entity (nationality and language) but we cannot tell them
apart, or which is which.
To avoid confusion we will include the identity of each object in our statement:
the nationality French speak the language French
or in our first fact:
the student Arnold studies the subject French
In this way there is no confusion as to Arnold being a subject or French being a person.
(We must remember as we conduct this process that we are modelling reality in a way that can
be represented inside a computer. A computer has no concept of person or subject other than
what we put into it, and so we have to be explicit in identifying what each is.)
To make our presentation even clearer we can also include the reference mode by which we
refer to each entity:

the student with first name Arnold
studies
the subject with subject name French
This avoids problems of context. There is now no way we could confuse a surname of Arnold
with a first name Arnold or a nickname Arnold. French is definitely a subject name, and not a
code or a description of the subject.
To make the importance of this clear, an unmanned Martian probe failed because part of its
specification was in metric and part in imperial measurements. The designers had not been
specific enough in identifying different components. Some parts were in millimetres and these
did not match those in inches. Tens of millions of dollars and months of effort were wasted by
failing to clarify the reference mode to be applied to the different components.
Elementary sentence
At this level of formalisation we have altered the elementary fact so that it is now an
elementary sentence derived from the UoD.
An elementary sentence is a formalised fact that indicates:
entities the objects that make up a system, e.g. student
labels used to identify specific entities, e.g. Arnold
reference modes how the label refers to the entity, e.g. first name
roles the relationships between entities, e.g. studies.
The elementary sentence above may have come from table such as the following:
name subject
Arnold French
Mary MathsA
Hayley Chemistry
Kim IPT
In this table:
the entities are student and subject; these are objects that are part of the UoD
some labels are Mary, Chemistry and IPT; these are values that identify specific
instances of an entity
first name is the reference mode of the label Arnold to the entity student, subject
name is the reference mode of the label Chemistry to the entity subject, etc.
the roles are studies and is studied by; these are the relationships between the entities.
A clear understanding of the above terms is very important. We will use them in later
explanations and so you will need to be comfortable and familiar with them.
Representing elementary sentences
The above table actually results in two elementary sentences. The first is shown above the
other is the reverse:
the subject with subject name French
is studied by

the student with first name Arnold
For brevity the two elementary sentences can be written together and abbreviated to:
student (first name) Arnold
studies / is studied by
subject (subject name) French
In this form of the elementary sentence we write the entity with its reference mode in brackets
and a sample label on one line. The two elementary sentences are contracted into one by
reading both down (student of first name Arnold studies subject of subject name French) and
upward (subject of subject name French is studied by student of first name Arnold).
In general an elementary sentence will look like:
entity (reference mode) label
role / reverse role
entity (reference mode) label
As a further example look at the following table:

which would result in the following elementary sentence (read both down and up):
salesperson (id#) 2578
is paid / is pay for
wage ($) 520
Finding relationships
Developing the list of entities and then combining them in elementary sentences is usually the
most difficult step of the ORM process.
One way that can help is to list the possible entities and then drawing lines showing any
relationship links.
For the above example this would look like:
salesperson
wage
but for a more complex situation might look like:
code#
product
order#
date
salesperson
price
id# pay
2578 $520
4578 $650
6578 $455
4556 $495

These lists need not be formal as they are only used to help organise your ideas. If you wish
they can be written on scrap paper and discarded after use.
Once the entities and links have been identified it is then much easier to work towards
developing the elementary sentences.
Dummy key
One final point in developing elementary sentences. Look at the following set of entities:
name gender born height weight
It is possible that for each of these entities there will be repeat instances, e.g. two people with
the same name.

There may be no entity that could act as a key field.
In situations such as this it is useful to create a new entity to act as a key. In this example
perhaps we could include a unique identity number or student code that will be able to act as a
key. This field does not exist in the real world, but to enable us to better organise the database
we create it to act as the key entity.
Activity 8.2 Elementary my dear Watson
1. State at least four elementary facts from the following table:
name age height
J ane 15 168
J im 16 175
Bill 15 169
Kate 17 170
2. a Why is the following not an elementary fact?:
Helen is 30 and earns $55 000 per year.
b Convert the statement into elementary facts.
3. Is it possible to break the following statements into simpler units without losing
information? If so convert them into elementary facts, if not say why not.
a A large Coke costs $1.90 and a small Coke is $1.40.
b In March Michael Clark scored 420 runs.
c Stan and George and Pete are all single.
d Deciduous trees lose leaves in autumn.
e Brooke borrowed the Living End CD from Petra last Wednesday.
surname gender born height weight
Smith, J male 12-08-95 1.73m 66kg
Smith, J female 6-06-97 1.52m 48kg
etc.

4. Extract as many elementary facts as you can from the following:
On Saturday Mike and Dean went to the speedway at Caldwell. They saw Peter Brock win
the Super A-Car event and J im O'Sullivan come second. First prize was $50 000. The
event was covered by Channel 7. 32 000 people saw the event live, and an estimated 3
million on TV.
5. Explain what each of the following is. Give an example of each from an original situation
of your own choice:
a entity b label
c reference mode d role.
6. a Explain in your own words the difference between an entity and a label.
b Identify the entities and labels in the following:
name section position
Lowe A4 junior
Adams B9 senior
Fredricks A4 trainee
Anderson R5 junior
c What are the reference modes of the labels to the entities?
d What roles are played?
e Write the elementary sentences for the above table.
7. Convert your elementary facts from Q1 and Q2 into elementary sentences.
8. Cecil D. Romm has undertaken the task of developing an information system for Mike
Jones Home Find. This is a new real estate agency that has been set up recently by Mike
J ones with three salesmen and a secretary/ receptionist.
Cecil would like to consult the owner of the system, the potential end users and any person
who might be considered a UoD expert.
a Suggest the person or employee who might fill each of these roles (owner, end user,
UoD expert) at the real estate agency.
b Give an indication as to the sort of information you think Cecil could expect to obtain
from each of these in the given situation.
9. Look at the data capture form over page and answer the following questions:
a Suggest a possible UoD for the above situation.
b Identify the entities represented on the form.
c List the entities vertically and then draw lines linking the ones that are related.
d Use this list to write the elementary sentences for the above form.
e In writing the elementary sentences did you have to make any assumptions? Consider
the use of the phone, the link between the suburb and postcode, and other such things.
List any assumptions you have made.

Bunyip Town Library
Full name: .................................................. Date of Birth: ...................
Title: Dr Mr Mrs Ms
Street address: ...........................................................................
Suburb: ..................................... Postcode: ...............
Phone: .....................................
Office use only
Card number: .....................................
Issue date: .....................................

CS diagrams
To be able to simply represent and manipulate the entities and relationships in an information
system we can use diagrams.
In conceptual schema (CS) diagrams we indicate entities as ellipses (ovals), while roles are
shown by rectangles. Lines indicate the relationships between entities.

A simple CS diagram
The entity student is placed in the ellipse with the reference mode in brackets underneath. The
roles (relationships) are placed in the rectangles. If the reverse relationship is obvious it can be
omitted.
While a CS diagram represents an elementary sentence it does not include any labels. After
drawing a diagram it is a good idea to check that all instances have been represented to make
sure none have been left out.
If the reference mode is not unique to an entity it is represented in a separate, dotted, ellipse.
Say in our information system we wished to record the entity student by an identity number, by
surname, and by name most commonly known as. Each is a different reference mode, but each
identifies the one entity that is student.

Student
(name)
studies Subject
(code)
is studied
by

On a diagram it could look like this:

Alternative reference modes for one entity
The main reference mode is still under the entity in brackets, while the alternative reference
modes are in dotted ellipses. (Why do you think id# might be chosen as the most important
reference mode?)
Developing CS diagrams
Before drawing a CS diagram it is necessary to identify all of the entities and the relationships
between them. This can be done by determining the elementary sentences.
Take the following situation:
title accn# performer year
Alchemy 234-319 Dire Straits 1984
Unplugged 876-909 Clapton 1992
Hotel California 299-765 Eagles 1976
But Seriously 458-778 Collins 1989
Since title and accession number both refer to the same entity we get:
album
artist
year
which gives us the elementary sentences:
album (accn#) 876-909 album (accn#) 876-909
is performed by / performs on was recorded in / is date of
artist (name) Clapton year (AD) 1992
We also need to show the link between title and accession number:
album (accn#) 876-909
is called / is name for
title (name) Unplugged
Surname
Known
by

is
named

is
called
studies
studied
by
Student
(id#)
Subject
(code)

Putting all of this on the one diagram will result in:

CS diagram for CD Albums
Finally we check all instances (values on the table) have been represented on the diagram. To
do this read the diagram placing real values in place of the entities. If the elementary sentences
were developed correctly there should be no problem, but it does not hurt to check.
Incorrect CS diagrams
As we add more and more entities to a diagram it can get very complex. As long as we work
from elementary sentences that fit the original UoD there should be no problem. There should
be a relationship linking each pair of entities (or entity pair if nested).
The following is possible:

CS diagram with each entity linked to at least one role
but the following three examples would make no sense:

Incorrect CS diagrams
Title
is
called
performed
by

Album
(accs#)
Artist
(name)
recorded
in

Year
(AD)

Arity
So far we have mostly looked at binary relationships where each entity is linked by a
relationship to one other entity. However we can have relationships with just one entity. These
are called unary relationships.
Here are two examples of unary relationships:

A role with one entity One entity with more than one role
The second of these is also called a collapsed entity.
The number of entities in a relationship is called its arity. Unary relations have an arity of one,
binary relationships an arity of two. It is possible to have unary, binary, ternary, quaternary,
etc., relationships. In general these are described as n-ary relations.
In ORM is best to work with at least binary relations. The collapsed entity has two roles and is
binary, but with a single role relationship we will need to alter it artificially as in the following
example:
name runner
J im Y
Dale N
Kim Y
Alice Y
In the next section we will look at higher arity relationships.
Activity 8.3 Drawing relationships
1. Identify the entities and roles in the following and then draw the CS diagram for each.

a
name height
J eremy 160
Mary 156
Alex 172
Arthur 162
b
name height born
J eremy 160 1984
Mary 156 1985
Alex 172 1984
Arthur 162 1986
person (name) Dale
with status / is status of
runner (Y/N) no
runs
is husband
of
is wife of
Athlete
(name)
Person
(name)

2. Convert the following facts to elementary sentences and then represent them as CS
diagrams:
a Mr Smith teaches 11S.
b Peter drives a Camry made by Toyota.
c The U/15s play at 2:30 on Willows Oval.
d Fiona lives in Inglewood which has a postcode of 4387.
3. For each of the following identify the entities and draw the CS diagram to show the
relationship between them.
a Pet Motel
Owner Pet Type Kennel
Redman Sky dog 13
Redman Hook cat 2
Ranger Silver dog 24
Smith Silvester cat 3
Morris Deefer dog 22
b Australian Prime Ministers
Prime Minister Born Died
Barton E 1849 1920
Deakin A 1856 1919
Watson J 1867 1941
Reid G 1885 1918
Fisher A 1885 1952
4. The table below shows information in relation to projects undertaken by a large
organisation. List the entities and draw lines showing the relationship links. Use your list
to draw the CS diagram for the table.
project# manager budget salary born started
P1 Smith 40 000 12 000 1955 1998
P2 J ones 30 000 14 000 1964 1997
P3 Adams 50 000 11 000 1962 2000
etc.
c
name section position
Lowe A4 junior
Adams B9 senior
Fredericks A4 trainee
Anderson R5 junior
J ones R5 senior
d
ISBN title author
06446387049 Applied IT Savage
0552141275 Bravo Two Zero McNab
0684816121 Popcorn Elton


As you prepare the CS diagram will need to make some assumptions as you only have the
limited information the table gives you. Under the diagram list the assumptions you make.
5. The table below shows information in relation to sales.
item# description price seller code name discount dept
1387-67 1 litre paint $14.50 B392 J ones 5% home wares
1355-62 2 kg fertiliser $19.75 B392 J ones 8% gardening
1387-67 1 litre paint $14.50 A922 Smith 5% home wares
etc.
a What is a possible UoD for this system?
b Identify the entities in the system.
c List the entities and draw lines showing the relationship links.
d Develop a CS diagram to represent the data presented.
e List any assumptions you made as you prepared the CS diagram.
Ternary relationships
As we saw earlier some facts contain more than one role but cannot be split without losing
meaning. Take the following example:
name subject grade
Claudia 11 Eng HA
Claudia 11 IPT VHA
Greg 11 Eng SA
Gina 12 MathsA SA
If we represented the above table with the two elementary sentences:
student (name) Claudia student (name) Claudia
studying / studied by scores / is score for
subject (code) 11 Eng grade (mark) HA
this would simply suggest that Claudia studies only one subject and receives only one mark. If
we keep things this simple we have lost information (that students get different marks for
different subjects). The grade needs to be linked to a combination of student and subject.
This is an example of a ternary relationship, one that contains three entities. The HA is not
connected to Claudia alone, nor to 11 Eng alone. Achievement is linked to the person-subject
combination, Claudia studying English achieved an HA.
The above situation is represented in one elementary sentence as:
student (name) Claudia
studying / studied by
subject (code) 11 Eng
scores / is score for
grade (mark) HA

There are two ways to represent a ternary relationship on a CS diagram:

Ternary relations on a CS diagram
The second form is called a nested relationship. The grade is linked to the combination student-
subject as if student-subject formed an entity in itself. The mark belongs to the combination of
a given student doing a given subject and not to either student by itself or subject by itself.
One way of checking for ternary or nested relationships is to see if any values are repeated in a
column. You will notice in the above table that Claudia appears more than once, as does 11
Eng. It is only the combination Claudia-11 Eng, or Greg-11 Eng that we can link the HA or the
SA to.
Of the two forms the nested relationship is more common, and is the one we will mostly use in
developing CS diagrams.
Here is a second example:
horse event winnings
Redhot Melbourne Cup 3 500 000
Redhot Caulfield Cup 1 750 000
North Sea Caulfield Cup 250 000
Hobnob Melbourne Cup 500 000
: : :
As we can see Redhot has won money in more than one race. The amount she has won depends
on which race she was in.
We can also see that Caulfield Cup comes up more than once, so that as this table continues we
can imagine that there will be a variety of horses in a variety of races each with the respective
winnings. The amount won will vary from horse to horse depending on which race it was in to
win that amount.
This is a ternary relationship.

studies
studies
studied
by
Student
(name)
Grade
(mark)
Subject
(code)
Grade
(mark)
Student
(name)
Subject
(code)
studied by
scores
scores

horse (name) Redhot
running in
event (race) Caulfield Cup
earning
winnings ($) 750 000

The winnings is linked to the combination Horse-Event. In effect Horse-Event has become an
entity in its own right.
It is possible to have quaternary (4), quinternary (5), and higher arity relations but these are
complex and we do not often have to use them. If it is necessary to represent a quaternary
relation it can be represented as a double nested.

Activity 8.4 Nested relations
1. a What does arity refer to?
b What is meant by the term a ternary relationship?
c The fact In March, Michael Clark scored a total of 420 runs is ternary.
Explain how the dividing of it into simpler facts would result in the loss of
information.
d Written as an elementary sentence the above fact would be:
cricketer (name) Michael Clark
during / by
earns
winnings
($)
Horse
(name)
Event
(race)
running
in
studying
Time
(day)
Student
(name)
Subject
(title)
during
is in
Room
(code)

period (month) March
scored / scored in
runs (number) 420
Draw the CS diagram for the sentence.
2. For each of the following identify:
a possible UoD
the entities involved
the reference mode used for each entity
the elementary sentences each represents
a

b

c

studies
Room
(number)
Student
(name)
Subject
(title)
Located
in
written
by

Book
(ISBN)
Author
(surname
Pages
(number)
contains
sells for
Price
($)
Drink
(brand)
Size
(ml)
of

d

e

3. Represent each of the following as elementary sentences and then draw them as CS
diagrams.

a
class day room
11IPT Monday R1
12IPT Monday R2
11IPT Tuesday R4

c
breed owner pet
dog Harris Fido
cat Paulson Cindy
dog Paulson Deefer
bird Murray George
dog Dunn Lonnie
b
city rainfall month
Brisbane 45 J anuary
Sydney 85 J anuary
Melbourne 12 J anuary
Brisbane 62 February
d
shop item sold
Coles mop 300
brush 400
duster 200
BigW mop 400
dust pan 250
contains
Dept
(code)
Section
(branch)
Workers
(count)
part of is assigned
due on
Date
(dd/mm/yy)
Book
(title)
Borrower
(id)
lent
to
written
by

Author
(name)
called
Name

e f Pizza Palace

g Bunyip High School
Id# Student Subject Teacher Room
34578 Harrow W English Watson A24
34578 Harrow W Science Richards C41
34578 Harrow W Maths Graham R9
34665 Ayre R English Watson A24
34665 Ayre R Science Graham C41
34778 Kempsey P Maths Smith R9
Simplifying the structure
Part of our job in designing an information system is to make it as simple as possible while still
keeping it true to the real world situation it is modelling. To do this if we can reduce the
number of entities, and hence the number of columns or tables, then we will generate a more
manageable structure.
As part of this process we can remove surplus entities, and identify derived entities. We will
see how to do this in our CS diagrams.
Surplus entities
If something is described as being surplus we mean it is not really needed and we can do
without it.
Look at the following information about netball teams:
squad manager trainer captain
Arrows Peters Harris Harris
J ets Logan Michaels Kemp
Rockets Morris Morris Lange
Bullets Roberts Forde Roberts
we might be tempted to represent this on a CS diagram as:

city month max min
London J anuary 15 2
February 14 4
Paris J anuary 15 -1
February 18 5
Pizza Size Price
Mega Meal Small $7.20
Medium $8.50
Large $10.50
Supreme Small $7.50
Medium $8.90
Large $10.90

However if we look carefully at the values in the table we will see that there appears to be an
overlap. Some managers are trainers, some trainers are captains, and some captains are
managers. If we want to record the same data (personal details, contact information, etc.) about
each, then they can be treated as the one entity.
The above could more simply be represented as:

When we find a situation where one label instance is turning up in different entities it is an
indication that we can simplify the diagram by combining the entities. In this situation instead
of four entities we have two, because the entity member plays three different roles. In the
second diagram we have eliminated two surplus entities. This is simpler to handle and easier to
maintain in a database.
To find surplus entities such as the above look for the same instance or value turning up in
more than one column. If different instances are going to have the same information recorded
about them, and be treated in the same way in each case (e.g. as a text field 20 characters long),
then the different instances can be represented by one entity.
Take the following case:
rectangle length (cm) width (cm) area (cm
2
)
J 1 15 4 60
J 2 4 3 12
J 3 12 6 72
J 4 5 60 300
There again appears to be an overlap. The instance labels 12, 4 and 60 appear in more than one
column perhaps there are surplus entities here.

controlled
by
trained
by

Squad
(name)
Trainer
(surname)
run by

Captain
(surname)
Manager
(surname)
trained
by

Squad
(name)
Member
(surname)
run by

controlled
by


For the 4 we can see that in both cases the value is in centimetres and so it appears length and
width can be treated as one entity. But what about the 12 and the 60? In these cases we are
dealing with two different units, and 12cm cannot be meaningfully compared to 12cm
2
. Length
and width are both about the same sort of thing, but area is a different type of unit.
Our CS diagram can therefore be drawn as:

with one surplus entity removed. When we come to enter this into the database we will have
one less field to be concerned with, and will have less chance of entering properties for the
same type of thing in two different ways.
One other way of spotting surplus entities is if we see we are entering the same type of
information for what we thought were two different entities. Take the following that might be
part of a much larger CS diagram for a school sports day:

In this situation we can see that the same sort of information is being recorded for a student as
is being recorded for a competitor. If you look at the tables of information and discover that
students are also competitors then it makes sense that there is a surplus entity here.
In this case we could do away with the entity competitor and simply use the student number to
identify competitors. This would not only remove one entity but there would be one less table
in the database, and less chance of inconsistent data. Removing the surplus entity would
simplify the database and improve its integrity.

has
length

Rectangle
(number)
Distance
(cm)
has
region

has
width

Area
(cm
2
)
was
born

Student
(id#)
Date
(AD)
is
is
Gender
(M/F)
Competitor
(comp#)
Height
(cm)
was
born
is
is

Derived entities
A derived entity is a value that the computer can calculate as the database is running. Take the
example above of area of the rectangle. This field can easily be determined by multiplying the
length and the width. By establishing entities that can be worked out at run time we have less
data to store and a simpler set of database tables to create.
To indicate derived fields on a CS diagram we place an asterisk (*) next to them and show the
calculation at the bottom of the diagram as a footnote.
Take the following case:
item code cost price selling price profit
bl786 $10.45 $15.90 $5.45
gh321 $11.80 $18.50 $6.70
kk776 $5.65 $11.25 $5.60
The final three columns all contain money, so they can be treated as one entity. In addition the
profit can be worked out by the computer (how?).
The CS diagram would look like:

* selling price cost price
The asterisk shows that profit is derived and points to the calculation needed to derive it.
In effect we will not create the last column of the above table as a field in our database. The
amount of profit will only be available to users at run time. This has the advantages of making
for a simpler table structure, and avoids the problem of having a possibly incorrect value stored
in the database. The value is only calculated when it is needed.
Activity 8.5 Less is more
Draw CS diagrams for each of the following situations. In each remove surplus, and indicate
derived entities.

*
1.
code salary allowances pay
E1 30 000 5 000 35 000
E2 25 000 3 000 28 000
E3 28 000 3 500 31 500
2.
expt start(g) end(g) gain(g)
1 230 280 50
2 240 295 55
3 220 270 50
4 225 255 30
costs

Item
(code)
Money
($)
earns
profit

sells
for


5. Prepare a conceptual schema diagram for each of the databases we used in unit 7.
a Repairs:
Devices (type, rate, priority)
Technicians (id_numb, name, grade)
Experience (id_numb, type, qualification)
Repair (job_numb, id_numb, type, owner, date, time, ready, cost)
b School:
Student: (stnumb, stname, gender, grade, born)
Subject: (subjnumb, subjname, tname)
Results (stnumb, subjnumb, percent)
Teacher: (tname, grade, room)
c Classic movie hire club:
Movie (movienumb, movname, length, year, dirnumb)
Director (dirnumb, dirname, country)
Member (memberid, memname, address, owes)
Onhire (movienumb, memberid, duedate)
Uniqueness constraints
Our aim in ORM is to get the best, or optimal, arrangement of fields and tables in a relational
database, and to identify important properties of the fields. At this stage we have completed the
most difficult part of the process, determining the entities and relationships in a given situation
and representing them on a CS diagram.
We are now ready to determine which tables make up the database and which fields go into
which tables. To do this we first have to identify the uniqueness constraints on relationships,
and then use these to group fields into tables, with a specified table key.
You will remember from Unit 1 that it is important to be able to identify fields that can act as
keys. Columns are named, but rows are not. To be able to refer to an individual row it must
have a field that is unique, i.e. not repeated. The data in this field will then act as the key or
identifier for a given tuple.
So what is a uniqueness constraint? Unique means not repeated; a constraint is a limitation or
restriction. In terms of ORM a uniqueness constraint is an indication of the number of times
that an entity can play a role in a relationship with another entity.
This sounds more complicated that it is, so to illustrate what uniqueness constraints are, and
how they work, we will use an example of a table of information about drivers of cars.
3.
id# number weight total
254 5 230 1150
256 10 150 1 500
257 6 310 1 860
258 3 200 600
4.
item cost tax price
cassette $15.50 5% $16.28
CD $24.90 10% $27.39
DVD $29.50 8% $31.86

Many:1
The first form of uniqueness constraint we will look at is many:1.
Take the following example showing who holds which drivers licence:

The double headed arrow, called a bar, over the role on the left indicates the licence can only
play that role once relative to a driver.
If we look at a table containing instances of these entities we can see that there are no repeats of
the licence number, while there may be repeats in the surname column:

We can see from this example that the surname Harris has two licences (whether Harris is the
same person or not). A licence will only ever have one surname linked to it, but a surname may
have more than one licence. The bar indicates the uniqueness of the licence between this pair of
entities.
For just this pair of entities the only one of the two that has non-repeating instances is licence.
To show that licence is unique when looking at just these two, we place the bar over the role
that licence plays in the relationship.
This sort of relationship where the entity on the left is not repeated, while the one the right may
be, is described as many:1 (many-to-one), and called a single strong relationship. (Why it is
called many:1 will be explained shortly). If the entities appear in a CS diagram with the unique
entity on the right then it can be described as 1:many.
Many:many
The second form of uniqueness constraint is a many:many (many-to-many)
Again using our car drivers example, this time for traffic offences:

This time the uniqueness constrain is over both roles.

lic_numb surname
59 762 139 Harris
59 762 140 Addams
59 762 141 Smith
59 762 142 Harris
..., etc.
licence
(lic_numb)
driver
(surname)
belongs
to

licence
(lic_numb)
offence
(desc)
issued
to


If we look at a table:

we can see that there are repeats of instances in both columns. Looking closely however, while
each offence has been issued to several licences, and some licences have more than one
offence, we can see that the combination offence-licence is unique. The bar over both entities
indicates that there are no repeats of the same offence to the same licence. This is a many:many
or weak constraint.
1:1
The final uniqueness constraint is 1:1 (one-to-one).

In this case there is one and only one mobile phone contact number recorded for each driver
through their licence number. There are no repeats of instances in either column. A relationship
in which each entity only has unique instances is described as 1:1 or double strong. A 1:1
relationship is indicated by a bar over each role in the relationship.
Activity 8.6 Constraints
1. a What does the word unique mean?
b Why is it necessary to have a key field in a relational database?
c In the following table which field is likely to act as the key field?:
Account (name, birthdate, gender, account#, balance)
d Explain with examples why each of the other fields would be unsuitable.
2. What are the three types of uniqueness relationship that can exist between two entities?
offence lic_numb
speeding 59 762 139
seat belt 59 762 140
seat belt 59 762 139
speeding 59 762 141
parking 59 762 141
..., etc.
lic_numb mobile
59 762 139 0143 890 144
59 762 140 0138 556 887
59 762 141 0148 245 574
59 762 142 0133 564 123
..., etc.
licence
(lic_numb)
mobile
(ph#)
contact
at


3. For each of the following identify the form of uniqueness relationship and add a constraint
bar over the appropriate role or roles.
a

b

c

d

e

4. Using the collapsed CS diagram shown here, what uniqueness constraints would apply in
each of the situations that follow?

school
(number)
person
(surname)
principal
of
run
by
account
(acc#)
address
(street)
registered
to
found
at
gender
(M/F)
is of
person
(surname)
feature
(desc)
fitted
with

car
(reg#)
person
(first name)
is husband
of
is wife
of
student
(student#)
subject
(desc)
studied
by
studies

a polygymy where one husband can
have several wives
husband wife
J im Mary
J im J ane
Peter Lisa
c polyandry where a wife can have
several husbands
husband wife
J im J ane
Peter Alice
Mike Alice
b monogamy a person may have
only one spouse
husband wife
J im J ane
Peter Alice
Mike Lisa
d polygamy a person may have
several spouses
husband wife
J im Mary
J im J ane
Peter Mary
Peter Lisa
Mike J ane
5. Draw the CS diagram and add uniqueness constraints for the following:
a b c
Uniqueness relations
There are three possible uniqueness relations between a pair of entities, single strong (many:1
or 1:many), weak (many:many) or strong (1:1). By identifying these constraints we can group
fields into tables, and choose a field or fields that can act as key for each table.
Before we do that, let us look at why the constraints are so named.
The 1:1 is the easiest to see. Using the drivers mobile phone example:

Each instance on the left points to a single instance on the right. They are linked one to one.
Many:1 (or 1:many) on the other hand describes a situation in which more than one instance in
one entity may be linked to only one in the other.
name age name height weight captain team played won
Mick 16 Mick 168 75 Harris cricket 8 6
J im 16 J im 182 84 Murray netball 14 12
Claire 15 Claire 159 58 Harris rugby 15 6
Linda 17 Linda 162 56 J ones tennis 6 3
59 762 139
59 762 140
59 762 141
59 762 142
0143 890 144
0138 556 887
0148 245 574
0133 564 123

Take for example if we list all of the possible drivers licence instances under one entity, and
all possible genders under the other, and then show links with lines:

This shows that more than one instance on the left (many) can point to a single instance on the
right (1).
Finally the many:many relationship describes a situation in which more than one instance in
one entity may be linked to more than one instance in the other. Going back to our traffic
offence example:

More than one instance on each side (many) can point to more than one instance on the other
(many).
Key fields
As we saw in unit 1 the columns in a relational database are named, but rows are not. In order
to identify a given record in a database one or more fields are chosen as keys. For example in a
motor vehicle database the licence number will uniquely identify a particular driver, even if
two drivers have the same name.
lic_numb surname first_name age offence
59 762 139 Smith Alice 35 speeding
59 762 140 Harris Mark 54 seat belt
59 762 139 Smith Alice 17 parking
: : : : :
We can use uniqueness constraints to identify which entities can potentially act as table keys
when the entities become fields in the database.
In a many:1 situation the entity that is the many side will not be repeated and so becomes a
possible key entity. If it is linked to other different entities that together might form a table, it
becomes a possible primary key for that table.
In the example above the licence number is many:1 to surname, to first name, to age, and to
offence. In this case licence number is a possible primary key if a table is made from these
entities.
59 762 139

59 762 140

59 762 141
speeding

seat belt

parking
59 762 139
59 762 140
59 762 141
59 762 142
59 762 142
...etc.

Male

Female

On the other hand in 1:1 situations where each entity has unique instances, either entity can act
as a table key for a group of other entities. In this case they are referred to as candidate keys. If
one entity is chosen it becomes the primary key of the table; the one not chosen is referred to as
a secondary key.
Finally in a many:many situation the only unique relation is the combination of the two entities.
In cases such as this the two entities can be linked to form a combination key for any entities
linked from them.
One example of this is in a nested relation where one entity is linked to a combination of two
other entities.

Here the offence belongs to the combination driver-date. A driver, identified by his or her
licence number, commits more than one offence; at the same time more than one offence is
committed on the same day. The only thing that is unique in this instance is the driver-date
combination. (What assumption are we making here?)
A weak constraint is put across the combination. In turn offence is linked to the driver-date
combination by a single strong constraint.
This pattern of constraints almost always appears on a nested relation and is worth
remembering.
In the next section we will see how we can now use these constraints to identify the table keys
in a database and to optimise the table structure. We will look at other forms of constraint later.
Activity 8.7 Key constraints
1. a Table keys can be described as primary, candidate or composite. With which sort of
relationship is each type of key associated?
b Uniqueness constraints can be weak, single-strong or double-strong. With which sort
of relationship or relationships is each type of constraint associated?
2. a Create a table of data with two columns and four rows. Add data so that there is at
least one repeat in at least one of the two columns but no two tuples are the same.
b Using the examples in the section above draw a diagram showing which instances in
one field are linked to instances in the other.
driver date offence
59 762 139 12/08/10 speeding
59 762 140 12/08/10 seat belt
59 762 139 13/08/10 seat belt
59 762 141 13/08/10 speeding
59 762 141 20/08/10 parking
..., etc.
on
offence
(desc)
driver
(lic#)
date
(dd/mm/yy)
comm
.-itted

c Identify the type of relationship you have drawn.
3. Develop the CS diagram and add uniqueness constraints for the following facts:
a Bankcard 3912 5643 23 belongs to Smith.
b J ane's phone number is 345621.
c Martin in the German Grand Prix started in 3rd place on the grid.
d J im in Yr 11 is 185cm tall (assume there is only one J im in Yr 11).
e Student 23451 received a credit for Maths C.
4. Draw the CS diagram and add uniqueness constraints for the following ternary relations:
a b

c d

5. Draw the conceptual schema for the Bunyip Town Library data capture from Q8 in
Activity 8.2.
6. Draw the conceptual schema for the following situation. State any assumptions you make,
and add uniqueness constraints.
client born gender balance bank
Tully 12-08-91 M $12 567 ANZ
Peters 14-06-84 F $245.45 ANZ
Peters 14-06-84 F $56 457 NAB
Rodgers 01-05-86 M $48.50 CBA
7. Ezy Eddys Bonza Used Cars is about to be computerised. Ezy Eddy would like to record
the model of the car (e.g. Ford Fiesta), the year of manufacture (e.g. 2001), the selling
price (e.g. $18 700), as well as the cars colour. Each car is distinguished by the unique
number on its compliance plate.
Draw the CS diagram for the scenario. State any assumptions you make and add the
uniqueness constraints.
team month wins
Broncos May 5
Broncos J une 4
Sharks May 3
Storm J une 4
year month rainfall
2009 Nov 56
2009 Dec 68
2010 J an 23
2010 Feb 49
brand HDD RAM cost
Whiz 6.8G 2Gb $2 450
Whiz 12G 3Gb $2 800
Supa 6.8G 2.5Gb $2 200
Supa 10G 3Gb $2 560
bank rate loan
ANZ 7.8% home
ANZ 6.8% variable
NAB 7.75% home
CBA 6.5% variable

Normalisation
Creating the optimal (best) design for a database involves a process called normalisation. In a
series of processes data is rearranged to make handling it more efficient. Each normal form is
better suited to efficient data manipulation without update anomalies. The simplest arrangement
is called first normal form, or 1NF, while optimal normal form is 3NF. This is the best way we
know to arrange data so that it is simple, efficient and effective to operate with. (In addition to
3NF data can be further refined into 6NF.)
To normalise data to 3NF used to be a complex and time consuming process. Fortunately using
ORM and the CS diagrams we have developed it is now a simple task. There are three steps:
a. draw a loop around groups of relationships linked to key entities (many:1 or 1:1)
b. draw a loop around any relationships that are many:many and any nested off them
c. establish named tables by listing all entities coming from each loop and underlining the
key entity.
This process will need a bit of explanation. To do this and for simplicity we will use the
following skeleton of a CS diagram.

The above diagram simply shows the entities identified by letter names and the roles with
uniqueness constraints. A diagram such as this is used only for demonstration purposes.
The first thing we need to do is find any entities that can act as primary keys. These will always
be in relationships that are many:1 or 1:1 the uniqueness constraint bar will be over the role
closest to the key entity.
In the diagram we can see that B is many:1 to A, to D, and to C (the bar is closest to B for each
pair). The entity B can thus act as a primary key for the other three entities. In turn C can act as
key for F and G.
But what about D and A? This is a 1:1 relationship and so we have what is described as
candidate keys either could be primary key. We have to choose between them, and since in
this situation D is also a key for C we will choose D as the primary key.

To show the choices we have made so far we draw loops around the relations already chosen.

For clarity the loops have been shaded, but in practice this is not needed.
The loop on the left shows D is to act as key for A and C. The next loop shows B acting as key
for A, D and C. The last loop shows C as key for F and G. We identify the key because it is the
entity in the loop that the uniqueness bars are closest to.
In drawing these loops we must only draw around the relationships, not around the entities
themselves. (At times this may result in awkward looking loops.) We also have to ensure there
is no cross over each relationship is in only one loop.
The loops we have drawn so far indicate the relationships that are linked many:1 or 1:1 to our
key entities. The next step is to draw loops around many:many relations and any nested off
them. These entities in many:many relations will form composite keys for the remaining tables.
Doing this results in:


We put a loop around the D-H relation. The loop round the B-E combination is extended to
cover I which is nested off them. D-H and B-E will form composite keys.
We now have five loops on our diagram. The entities attached to these loops will form the
fields in our database tables. The key in each table will be the primary or composite keys
already identified. These are indicated by underlining them:
One: ( D , A , C ) Two: ( B , A , C , D ) Three: ( C , F , G )
Four: ( B , E , I ) Five: ( H , D )
In reality we would name the tables customer or accounts or something similar but here we
have just used numbers for names.
These five tables are now in optimal normal form (ONF) the best known way of arranging
fields for a relational database.
It is interesting to note that some fields are key fields in one table, but just ordinary fields in
another (see D in One and Two, or C in Two and Three). A non-key field that is a key for
another table is called a foreign key.
To review the normalisation process:
develop the CS diagram and add uniqueness constraints
draw loops around many:1 or 1:1 relationships grouped to a key entity
next draw loops around any many:many relations and entities nested off them
check to see that each relation is in only one loop, and that the loops do not go around
the entities themselves
finally use the loops to establish named tables and underline the keys.
Activity 8.8 ONF
1. a What does the word optimal mean?
b What is an update anomaly? Give an example of a situation in which one occurs.
c What is a key field in a database table? Why is one needed?
d Draw the CS diagram for two entities in a many:1 relation. Of the two which could
act as a key?
e Identify the four different types of database key described above and explain how
each is used.
2. Use the normalisation process to establish unnamed tables from the following skeleton CS
diagrams.
a


b

c

3. Whizz Computers intends to maintain sales records on computer. They would like to
record the name and phone number of customers as well as the computer they bought and
the date it was bought on. They also want to record the supplier of the computer for
warranty purposes.
The following tables are poorly designed but give an indication of the types of information
that will be in the database.
client cust# phone comp# ord# comp# ord# date desc supplier
Keats,J 1349 4356214 PX121 7654 PX121 7654 12-4-10 PC Acme
Harms,C 2314 4324134 PX123 7546 PX453 7693 12-4-10 PC Acme
Keats,J 1349 4356214 MX795 7321 MX795 7321 13-4-10 iMac GoComp
Long,S 1298 7346871 PX945 7527 PX945 7527 13-4-10 PC Acme
a Suggest how an update anomaly might occur with the above tables.
b Prepare a CS diagram to represent the entities and relations in the above tables. Check
for surplus entities.
c Add uniqueness constraints and state any assumptions you have made.
d Use normalisation to prepare a set of named tables with keys indicated.
e Why will an update anomaly no longer occur?

More constraints
As stated earlier a CS diagram is only an abstract model. In this section we are going to look at
ways to include additional information on CS diagrams to communicate more information of
the real world situation that is being represented.
Mandatory constraints
In the Whizz Computers question in the last activity the phone number was recorded for each
customer. The inclusion of the number is obviously necessary so that the customer can be
contacted if needed. In fact this is so important the database should force the sales assistant to
enter the number. The database should not allow a record to be completed if the required field
does not have an entry. In this way customer information cannot be recorded without a phone
number.
In a CS diagram we show an entity is required using a mandatory, or total role, constraint. This
is shown by a necessity dot next to the key entity in a relation:

The dot indicates that if a customer number is recorded then a phone number must also be
recorded. In this relationship the phone number cannot be null. The dot is placed next to
customer to show every instance of customer must be involved in a relationship with a phone
number.
To show how this works look at the following section of a CS diagram:

The necessity dot is only on one of the two relations coming from the key entity. This shows
that we must record a date of birth for a driver, but the driver may not yet have committed a
driving offence.

The offence field is permitted to contain nulls but the born field is not.
driver born offence
59 762 139 12-05-92 speeding
59 762 140 03-06-86
59 762 139 25-07-90 seat belt
59 762 141 15-08-84
..., etc.
phone
(number)
contacted
at

customer
(id#)
DoB
(dd/mm/yy)
born
driver
(lic#)
offence
(desc)
committed

If we wish we can indicate not null in a table definition by placing a necessity dot over the
required field.
Driver (lic#, born, address, phone, offence)
Since mandatory constraints are only used to determine required fields we need only consider
roles coming from key entities.
Roles from non-key entities can be ignored. In the above example we needed to consider if we
placed necessity dots on the roles leading from driver, but did not have to worry about DoB or
offence.
Entity constraints
Some entities are limited to the values they can take.
On a CS diagram we can indicate this alongside of the entity in brackets:

Marital status can only be recorded as S, M, W or D, gender can only be M or F, and wage can
only be values between 300 and 850.
These are all examples of entity constraints, a limitation placed on the values the entity can
hold.
Frequency constraints
A frequency constraint indicates the number of times a relationship may occur and is indicated
over the role.

In this example the student may take up to six subjects

<=6
(S, M, W, D)
(M, F)
(300..850)

gender
(M/F)
is of

person
(id#)
wage
($)
earns

married
(code)
status
of
subject
(code)
studies
student
(student#)

More constraints
External uniqueness
If two entities together form a unique combination:

The U linking the roles with a dotted line shows that in this situation a students first name and
surname taken together do not repeat. This means that no two students have the same full name.
Subset
If a role can be played by an entity only if another role is also played by that entity, then link
the two with a dotted arrow.

In this situation only those employees who perform extra duties will have a bonus recorded.
The arrow points from the dependent role (the one that would not exist without the other) to the
main role.
Equality
If a role will be played by an entity if, and only if, the entity also plays another role.

Here a teacher who teaches the subject must be the one to write the subject reports. The
equality constraint is shown by a dotted double-headed arrow.
earned
carrying
out
first
name

known
as
student
(student#)
surname

called
U

employee
(emp#)

extra duty
(desc)
bonus
($)
reports
on
teaches
teacher
(code)

subject
(desc)

Exclusion
Playing a role prevents an entity playing another role.

Here the amount customer either paid or still owes is recorded. Only one of the two roles (paid
or owes) is recorded, not both. The exclusion constraint is indicated by an X linking the roles
with a dotted line.
Subtype
The final constraint we will look at is subtype. This is used where data is recorded for only part
of an entity.

Here the amount paid is divided into either cash payments, or by credit card. If cash the amount
of change given is recorded, if by credit card the card number is recorded.
The entity amount is split into the subtypes cash and credit, with different information recorded
about each. The subtypes, that together make up the entity amount, are linked to it by solid-line
arrows.
Activity 8.9 By design
Develop a CS diagram for the each of the following situations. Add all constraints to your
diagram and develop named tables in ONF with keys clearly underlined.
1. Each football club in the Masters League Competition has a home ground. On a given date
a club will play at either its own or its opponent's home ground (there are no other venues).
owes
paid
customer
(cust#)

amount
($)
X
is paid
paid
customer
(cust#)
amount
($)
cash
change
($)
card
(card#)
credit
made
with


Each venue has a certain seating capacity. Players play for a given club although their
starting position may vary from game to game. (Assume a player only plays for one team
for the season.)
2. CerealCo runs a grain silo. Each farmer who delivers to the silo has a unique producer
number, and is located at a set address with a contact phone number.
Grain is supplied daily to the silo during harvest (no details of the silo need be recorded).
The quantity of grain supplied and the type (wheat, barley etc.) and moisture count of the
grain supplied by each producer for each day are recorded.
(Hint: Either assume a farmer makes only one delivery a day, or, each farmer only
produces one type of grain.)
3. Cheapa Rentals hires out a range of budget cars. Each car is identified by a unique vehicle
number.
The make of the vehicle and the date it was bought by the hire company are also recorded.
When a vehicle is taken out the odometer reading (in kilometres) of when the vehicle
leaves, and when it returns are recorded, as well as the date.
The hirer must supply his/her name and driver's license number. Each make of vehicle has
its own hire and insurance rates.
Assume vehicles are hired for full days only and for only one day at a time.
4. Bunyip SHS wishes to keep instructional information for one semester in a computer
based information system.
For each student, the name, age, gender and year level must be recorded as soon as they
are enrolled. Sometimes different students have the same name.
Each student may choose up to six subjects to study. Each subject has only one teacher but
teachers may teach more than one subject.
Each teacher is allocated a personal teaching room for their exclusive use and they use it
all of the time.
At the end of the semester, the student is allocated a Level of Achievement for each
subject.
5. Helen Hiram runs a moderately successful gym based mainly around aerobics, but with
body building and swimming classes included. Recently she has set up Hiram's Health
Hire Club - a company to rent out equipment to people wanting to get fit.
The club supplies equipment in the categories of Body Building (benches and weights),
Exercise (step-up, rowing or cycling machines) and Massage (e.g. ray lamps, immersion
units). Helen has up to five of each item, each individually numbered and with its purchase
date recorded for warrantee purposes. All equipment is on a one week loan with prices
varying from item to item (e.g. rowing machines $15 per week).
Helen wants members of her Health Hire Club to be able to come in and, on showing their
membership card (with barcode), be able to take out any piece of equipment. Members
may hire between one and three pieces of equipment and may hire items while they still

have other items on hire. The system will need to record the due date for return of each
item.
Since all members are local only their name and street address need be recorded. As Helen
likes to remember member's birthdays with a special half price offer she records this if she
has details. Some members are offered credit so Helen would like also to keep a record of
who owes her money and how much.
For simplicity you may assume that all money transactions etc. are done by the sales
assistant and so you may exclude them from your information system (apart from amount
owing for creditors).
6. Your school would like to keep a detailed database of its academic staff.
Apart from name and address and other usual details, the database is to record details of
qualifications that include institution, date and qualification type. Staff can have more than
one qualification. The database is also to record subject, year level, semester taught and for
which calendar year.
The database should be able to list all staff alphabetically with subjects taught each
semester from the time they commenced at the school. Another useful list would be to
have staff alphabetically arranged with qualifications attained in date of attainment.
7. Friendly Application Software Technology (FAST) is a computer programming agency.
FAST arranges for programmers working from home to contract their services to various
companies to develop computer applications. (A contractor is someone who does part of a
job for a company for a set price; an application is a computer program.)
Each programmer may be developing applications for several companies and so their
FAST identification number must be unique.
Information is recorded on the company or companies a programmer works for, the rate of
pay, the language s/he programs in and their contact phone number.
For an application both the language it is written in, and the type of program it is (game,
word processor etc.) are recorded.
The conceptual schema design process
We have now learned enough about ORM and conceptual schema to be able to develop our
own table structure in optimal normal form from scratch. The activity that follows this section
will give you exercises where you can have a go at doing it yourself. However before we get to
that we will have a full run through of the whole process from a realistic scenario through to the
stage of developing a set of relational tables.
To begin we will review the steps to be followed.
1. Investigate the UoD and develop a set of elementary sentences to describe it.
2. From the elementary sentences draw the conceptual schema diagram.
3. Simplify the diagram by eliminating surplus entities and by indicating derived facts.
4. Add uniqueness, mandatory and other constraints to the diagram.

5. Establish table loops around relation groups that are many:1 or 1:1, and around any
many:many relations.
6. From the loops form named tables and indicate keys and other relevant information.
As we go through this process you might like to try each step yourself before looking at the
solutions offered.
Yacht club scenario
Every year the Bunyip Lake Yacht Club holds regular regattas. At the beginning of the racing
season, most members of the club put in a season entry, which means they are automatically
entered into all races for that season. It is also possible to enter for a particular race on the day of
the race. Such an entry is known as a beach entry.
On the day of the race, the secretary makes up a list of entries for the race from the season entries
and the beach entries.
Races are normally run over a triangular course, finishing close to, but not at, the starting point.
Races are usually divided into divisions containing a single type (class) of boat, or a small number of
different classes.
The race committee supervises the race from the committee boat. At the start of the race, the
committee boat is placed at one end of the starting line, and the boats that actually start are
recorded on the list of entries. The actual start time for each division is also noted.
For the finish of the race, the committee boat moves to the finishing line and the time that each boat
crossed the line is recorded.
On the return to the clubhouse, the secretary calculates corrected times by adjusting the elapsed
time for the boat to finish the course by a helmsman's handicap and a yardstick where relevant. The
handicap is a measure of the helmsman's skill or previous success. The yardstick is a measure of
the size and speed of the boat, but is only used for divisions containing more than one class of boat.
A list of placings within each division, based on corrected time, is then written out, and a copy pinned
up on the club noticeboard.
Season entries are allocated points towards the club championship based on their results in each
race. The points are updated by the secretary.
Step 1 elementary sentences
The first step is to investigate the UoD presented in the scenario and develop a set of
elementary sentences to describe it.
To do this carefully read through the scenario several times and identify possible entities. This
can be done by underlining or circling (in pencil if doing so in this book!).
Since this is not a real-world task, and as you have no UoD expert to ask questions of, you may
have to guess at what something means, or the implications it may have for the task. As you do
this you will probably have to make assumptions about the scenario. Keep a record of these
assumptions as part of your documentation of the task.
A list of potential entities is given in the solution on the next page. Have a go at identifying
them yourself before looking at the solution.
The next step is to develop the elementary sentences that go with these entities. To help with
this draw lines (again in pencil) showing any relationship links between the entities listed.
From these links write out the relationships in the form:
member (id#) H3958

contacted on / is contact for
phone (number) 3689 1247
There are at least three ternary (nested) relations among the entities.
In developing the elementary sentences the following assumptions may be made:
entries for events belong to the members not the boats
all members who are not recorded as a season entry are classified as a beach entry
there may be more than one race on a day
helmsman may race on more than one boat for different races on a given day, but
helmsmen do not change during a race
handicaps can change during a race day and over a season.
The first of these, about linking an entry primarily to the member and not to the boat, is crucial.
If not done this way the elementary sentences, CS diagram, and eventually the resultant
database will be different. Why do you think this assumption has been made this way?
See if you agree with the other assumptions, or did you make any of your own?
Step 2 CS diagram
From the elementary sentences the first draft of the CS diagram can be produced.
Have a go at this yourself before looking at the solution on page 290.

Possible entities
Member [id#, name]
Home phone
Mobile phone
Email address
Entry type
Handicap
Entry
Boat [reg#, name]
Class
Yardstick
Start status
Race [race#, title]
Race date/time
Course
Division
Division start time
Finish time
Elapsed time
Corrected time
Placing
Race points
Season points
Boat points

Items in square brackets include alternative reference modes for the entity; entities in
italics are optional.
Step 3 eliminate surplus entities and indicate derived facts
To identify surplus entities see if the same instance is turning up in different entities. To find
these you may have to imagine instances in the different entities in the diagram or elementary
sentences. We can simplify the diagram by combining any surplus entities to produce a
database that is simpler to handle and easier to maintain.
There is only one quantity that can be worked out at run time and this is elapsed time. This
derived field is to be indicated on the CS diagram with an asterisk next to it and the calculation
shown at the bottom of the diagram as a footnote.
Again have a go at these yourself before looking at the solution.

Step 4 add constraints
Add uniqueness constraints, again recording any assumptions you make.
Next add mandatory, entity, frequency, and any other constraints indicated by the scenario.
The assumptions you make might include the following:
members must have at least one contact number, but only one home (and one mobile)
phone number is recorded for each member
members do not have to own or skipper boats
boats can be owned by more than one member
one member can own more than one boat
two boats may not tie for one placing in a race
members must have some season points recorded (even if just 0)
a class of yacht can only be in one division
the same yardstick can be applied to different classes
a given placement in a race (1
st
, 2
nd
, etc.) is always awarded the same points
all yachts are owned by members
a member who takes part in a race must be either a helmsman (skipper) or crew.
Step 5 establish table loops
We are now at the stage of determining which entities fall into which tables. To do this draw
table loops around relation groups that are many:1 or 1:1, and around any many:many relations.
Step 6 form named tables and indicate keys
Finally from the loops write out the tables, naming each and underlining the keys.
ONF Tables
Member (member_id, name, phone, mobile, entry_type, current_points)
Boat (reg_nr, name, class)
Race (race_id, title, day_time)
Start time (race_id, div_nr, start_time)
Event (reg_nr, race_id, skipper, finish_time, elapsed_time*, start_status, placing)
Class (class, div_nr, yardstick)
Owner (reg_nr, member_id)
Event crew (reg_nr, race_id, member_id)
Points (placing, points_awarded)
Handicap (member_id, race_id, handicap)

*elapsed time = (finish time division start time + handicap) * yardstick

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Activity 8.10 Developing an information system
1. The relations in the following electricity bill are represented by the CS diagram below.
Electricity Account
Tax Invoice/Statement
Ms J K Rowling
66 Philosophers Way
Hogwarts QLD 4466
Account
Number
Date of
Issue
Supply for Amount
Payable
Payment
required
by
8288271 04/06/10 87 days $236.91 25/06/03

Meter # Readings Tariff kWh Rate (c) Total ($)
3355478 27789 29045 Domestic 1256 14.7 184.63
1157784 45063 45752 Economy 689 7.49 51.61

Total GST 21.54
Total Amount Payable $236.24

Invoice number: QD 91-4532-78
NRG Co

Use the electricity account and the diagram to determine answers to the following:
a Suggest suitable role descriptors to be used at A and B on the diagram.
b What reference label should be used for the entity Meter at C.
c What type of object is at D?
d What type of relation is recorded at E? Explain why it must be of this type.
e The number of days the electricity supply is for (here 87) does not appear on the CS
diagram. Add an entity for this value to the diagram and also a relationship to link it
appropriately to the remainder of the CS.
f i Identify which relations could be derived.
ii Pick three and show how each could be calculated.
iii How is a derived entity indicated as such on a CS diagram.
g Identify surplus entities (if any). If present suggest how to eliminate.
h Apply uniqueness constraints to the diagram.
Apply mandatory role constraints to the diagram.
State any assumptions you have made in adding these uniqueness or mandatory
constraints.
i Indicate with loops which roles should be grouped together in tables.
j Develop ONF tables with meaningful names from the diagram.
2. The owners of Pedros Pizza have engaged your agency to set up a computerised
information system to help with their home delivery service. Your task is to design the set
of relational tables needed for the information system.
Pedro has given you the following information about the service.
Customers ring through their orders for pizzas which come in three types (Supreme,
Hawaiian and Vegetarian) and two sizes (large and family). The only other items on the
menu are cans of soft drink (Coke, Fanta and Sprite) and garlic bread. No products are
sold other than over the phone.
Each order is taken by a single operator who enters customer details and both the code and
the quantity for the particular items required. Orders are not accepted from public
telephones.
The total cost of the order is to be calculated by the computer and the customer then
informed. The operator is also responsible for allocating the order to a particular driver.
On a given night there are up to three drivers, each with their assigned vehicle.
The order is sent to the kitchen where it is prepared and made ready for the driver. The
driver then takes the order to the customer.
To prepare the CS diagram and find the ONF tables you follow these steps:
a Identify all of the entities in this situation.
b Develop a fully labelled conceptual schema diagram indicating entities, reference
modes and roles.

c Check you have no surplus entities and clearly indicate any derived relations.
d Apply uniqueness constraints to your diagram stating any assumptions you might
need to make.
e Add mandatory role and frequency or entity constraints as required.
f Develop named, normalised tables with the keys indicated.
3. Prepare an information system for No Worries Home Clean Services using the following
scenario.
No Worries is a contract cleaning agency run by Ruth and David Murray from a small office. Contract
cleaning involves customers entering into an agreement with the agency for jobs to be done. Some
services are conducted on a regular basis (set day and time) while others are arranged for a given
date as needed. Each service has a set hourly rate (e.g. lawn mowing $23/hr), although the time
taken for the job may vary from visit to visit.
While all jobs are arranged through No Worries, the actual work is carried out by franchisees, sub-
contractors who do the cleaning and pay a percentage to the agency. Since No Worries prefers only
one sub-contractor to a job, and not all sub-contractors provide all services, jobs are allocated to suit
particular franchisees.

No Worries
Home Clean Services
we take the hassle out of home care

No Worries services include:
general domestic cleaning
move-out cleans
commercial cleaning
lawn mowing
car washing
pet grooming
carpet cleaning

A professional service for your home or business
All work guaranteed
Call us on: 4639 2891
(franchises available)

SEI 8 Virtual communities
A social network is a group of friends, business acquaintances, colleagues, or other individuals
who share ideas, information and values. Nowadays participants of a social network
communicate over the internet. In doing this they set up a virtual community that mirrors real
life communities, with the difference that the individuals involved may never meet face to face.
On-line communities are a social phenomenon. They have developed rapidly in a few years and
propose a different social model from more tradition forms of communication such as
newspapers or broadcasting. These cybercommunities provide a format whereby an individual
can participate more directly with others, and at times even frame opinions. They provide a
means of direct communication by bypassing the restrictions that may apply to traditional
forms of distribution and are seen by many as an important aspect of freedom of speech.
In this section we will look at some of the forms these virtual communities take and some of
the effects that can result from this means of interfacing with others.
IRC
One of the earliest forms of social networking, and still very popular, is internet relay chat
(IRC). IRC is a form of instant communication over the Internet where participants type text
messages others can read. While IRC is designed for many-to-many communication there are
also options for one-to-one chatting.
Communication is made through IRC servers, computers set
up to receive, store and distribute messages between
participants. There are several thousand IRC servers world
wide but the most popular for Australian users are EFnet,
Austnet, DALnet, and Quakenet.
To start an IRC session a user connects to a server by means of a client program such as mIRC.
Connection usually does not involve logging on, but most servers require users to register a
nickname. The user can then list the various discussion forums, called channels, that are
available on the server and choose to join one. If permitted to they can then send messages that
are read by others on that channel.
A channel may be moderated. This means specified authorised users have control over who can
send messages. This is used to control the content of messages and to limit abuses of the
channel. The authorised users are known as operators or ops (or even @s). Some channels have
a range of levels of privilege for different ops.
The IRC server may be connected to a network of other servers allowing wider access to other
channels. The servers and networks are administered by users who have system-level
privileges. Originally called IRC operators these are now know as IRCops to avoid confusion
with channel operators.
IRC may also be used to transfer files or pictures between participants.


Instant messaging
Instant messaging (IM) is a different from IRC in that contacts are limited to known people.
To communicate, users will use a client program such as MSN
Messenger, Google Talk, Jabber or ICQ. These usually provide a
presence awareness feature that will indicate if any of the people on
the users list of contacts (sometimes called a buddy list) is on-line
and available to chat.
Instant messaging is very widely used. AOL Instant Messenger alone has 195 million registered
users with over 50 million active.
IM conversations are mostly text messages although files and other data can be shared. Some
clients offer the options of video conferencing or VoIP (voice over IP links to the telephone
networks).
Social networking
The fastest growing form of virtual communication is known as social networking. On the web
the two main social networking sites are Facebook and MySpace, though there are many others.
These social networking services consist of a representation of each user, usually presented as a
profile, the users social links, and a variety of other services.
Once a part of a social network users can communicate with others by searching through a list
of nominated friends, and also lists of their friends friends. In this way they only interact
within this circle of friends and not random strangers (as on IRC). Users can add people as
friends (friending), communicate with them, and update their personal profiles to notify
friends about themselves. Additionally, users can join networks of others arranged into interest
groups.
The user profile on a social network usually consists of photos, personal interests, contact
details and other personal information. Users can chat with friends and other users, send private
or public messages, or use a blog function. Participants can view profiles of others and form
links through introduction services or other means of social connection.
The different social network sites have a variety of approaches to privacy but generally allow
users to control their own privacy level and choose who can see what parts of their profile.
In addition to individuals, enterprises, organisations or activities now have a presence in social
networks, especially on Facebook.
Blogs
A blog (web log) is a means for individuals to post a series of articles that others can read on
the internet. Using a blog a person can express their ideas publicly, or report what they have
been doing so that those interested can follow their activities. Many blogs also provide a
comment or feedback feature so that readers can respond to the initial postings.
Blogging has built on from older forms of web based
communication such as Usenet, bulletin boards or email lists,
where individuals and groups exchanged ideas. Over time
personal home pages or online journals developed into a read-

write medium that non-technical users could use. Most blogs are now browser based.
Individuals can create their own blog with software such as Blogger or Live Journal, or can use
hosted server-side blogging applications such as bBlog or Moveable Type. Most social
networking sites also include a blogging function.
The person who writes a web log is called a blogger, if a group hosts a blog they are
multibloggers. A blog usually consists of a series of posted articles in reverse chronological
order. If the blog permits feedback these comments will be linked from each article. A series of
comments linked to a theme is called a thread. Some threads are bland and general, but others
can develop into heated discussion (or even abuse) in what is known as a blog storm.
While most blogs are text based there are also audio blogs, video blogs, comic blogs and even
moblogs (posted from a mobile phone or PDA). Each blog will usually have a blogroll of links
to related or similar blogs. This provides a context for the web log and creates a network of
mutually connected blogs.
Blogging is now very popular and there is a huge variety of forms of blog from personal diaries
to travel blogs, academic research blogs to web logs for minority language groups, etc. etc.
What began as a personal or small group medium is now becoming more mainstream.
Newspapers, political parties and companies are using blogs to personalise their contact with
individuals.
Twitter
Twitter is an abbreviated form of blogging, in fact it is described as microblogging.
Twitter is an online, asynchronous, broadcasting service whereby users
post brief messages, called tweets, of up to 140 characters. Unless
tweets are protected, they appear on a public timeline page, which
displays all public tweets in reverse chronological order. Users can also
send private tweets directly to another tweeter.
Each tweet identifies the sender with a link through their user name to a profile page that lists
all of their previous tweets.
Users can choose to follow another person, i.e. automatically receive tweet updates that
person posts. Tweets on the public timeline are also searchable on Twitter search.
Tweets can be sent or read on computers, mobile phones, IM and PDAs; this makes them very
appealing to todays highly mobile generation.
Besides offering the immediacy of contact with others, Twitter is also being used to announce
events, especially news happenings, often much before traditional news media.
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website on which users can upload, share, and view videos.
Most of the content on YouTube has been uploaded by individuals
and includes clips from movies and TV, music videos, as well as
user-generated material such as video blogs or original videos.
Unregistered users can watch the videos, while registered users are
permitted to upload an unlimited number of videos.

YouTube was the first successful method that allowed ordinary computer users to post videos
online. It is simple to use, and enables individuals to easily share their own videos with a
worldwide audience.
MMORPGs
Computer games have been around since the earliest days of computers. With the arrival of the
internet it was a natural progression that games go on-line so that players could compete
against other people instead of against the computer. In turn this has spawned communities of
players.
While there is a huge variety of on-line games, from text based
adventure games through to aerial combats in flight simulators, the
most successful financially and in terms of number of players have
been what are known as MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online
role-playing games).
MMORPGs are computer games in which a large number of people
play with and against each other in a game world. This virtual world
will persist even when players are offline. Examples of MMORPGs
include EverQuest, World of Warcraft (WoW) and Eve Online.
This type of game usually involves downloading a game engine and then paying a monthly
access fee to continue playing. In general there is a game moderator or game master who
supervises game play and rule or behaviour infractions.
In these games players take on the part of a character in a fantasy world and then role play that
characters actions. The character is usually represented by an avatar, a graphical representation
of a character they choose. Most games require some degree of teamwork and therefore have
IM or similar tools to facilitate communication between players. This is turn leads to
cooperative game play among groups who form into teams, guilds or clans.
By their nature MMORPGs tend to be addictive with many players becoming deeply involved
with their on-line persona. There have been many reports of players becoming over committed
to a game in time, emotionally, or financially.
Second life
Second Life is a cross between a MMORPG game world and a social network. Its users, called
residents, can explore, meet others, socialise, participate in activities, or create and trade virtual
property and services with one another.
Each resident is represented by an avatar, a graphical
representation of how they wish to appear in the world.
Avatars can communicate directly with each other through
a local chat function, while there is a global IM system for
indirect communication between members of groups.
Second Life is unlike a traditional computer game in that it does not have rules or an objective,
and so there is no winning or losing. It mainly consists of an extensive virtual world that can be
explored and interacted with.

Second Life has its own internal currency, the Linden dollar L$, that can be used to buy or sell
goods and services. The program includes a three-dimensional modelling tool that allows a
resident to build virtual objects from simple geometric shapes that can take on simple
functions. Using third-person software more complex items with texture, animations and
gestures can be created. Users retain copyright for any content they create, and these items can
be traded or sold, including in the real world.
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is an amazing phenomenon that has developed in the last few years. It consists of a
project to develop a collaborative encyclopaedia.
Wikipedia is based on wikis, software that allows users to add content to
a document or web site, or edit the content of other users. In this way a
group of users can collaboratively develop the document or site. A
single page in a wiki is called a wiki page, while a body of linked pages
is referred to as the wiki.
Wiki pages are easily created and updated. To add a new page it is
prepared, usually using a template, and then uploaded to a wiki server.
A hyperlink is then created on an existing page on the wiki to link to the
new page. Changes are also simple and, since most wikis are open to the general public, any
person may modify the page. Once developed the wiki will usually have a search facility added
to facilitate access to information contained in the wiki.
The philosophy behind wiki is that even complex tasks can be accomplished if enough
individuals help out. It is also believed that rather than restrict users so as to reduce errors, it is
easier to correct mistakes once made. This means wikis are very open to amendment. Since it is
so easy for anyone to make changes, controls are in place to reduce the amount of incorrect
information and to limit vandalism. A change log, or revision history, of a wiki is kept that
highlights changes that have been made. An editor can then decide if the change is valid or not,
and if necessary revert the page to its former state. Through the collaborative efforts of many
thousands of users, pages are maintained in a fit and relatively accurate state.
Wikipedia is a project to create and distribute a free encyclopedia of the highest possible
quality to every single person on the planet in their own language (J immy Wales, founder).
Content on Wikipedia is provided by volunteers and is mostly freely available under the GNU
Free Document License.
What makes Wikipedia special is that its articles are not written like a traditional encyclopaedia
that employs only experts, but are written by literally anyone. If an article on a topic is not
available anyone can write it, and then anyone else can amend it. Some articles are constantly
being updated by many contributors. Articles are also very current, reflecting recent findings or
events.
Wikipedia now boasts over 200 language editions with millions of articles supported by many
thousand contributors. The English language version can be found at en.wikipedia.org.

Activity 8.11 Social networking
1. a What is a social network?
b What are some of the types of behaviour that are generally not acceptable in a
channel?
c What is body language and what is (linguistic) prosody?
d In what ways do on-line social networks limit non-verbal communication?
e Discuss the role of social networking in sanitising relationships.
2. What is the difference between IRC and instant messaging?
3. Facebook alone claims over 500 million active users which is nearly 1 in 14 people on the
planet. Why do you think social network sites such as Facebook are so popular?
4. At times social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have been
blocked in countries such as China, Burma and Iran.
Explain why the governments in these countries might have been wary of the role these
sites could have in opposing their control of the population.
5. Many YouTube videos have been described as viral.
a What does viral mean in this context?
b What characteristics might a viral video exhibit?
c Discuss the economic impact of employees accessing sites such as YouTube during
working hours.
6. Novice players in on-line games can be described as either newbies or noobs.
Explain what these terms mean.
One of the terms is more tolerant, and the other more derogatory. Which is which? Give
examples how each might be used in context.
7. a What is a blog?
b What is meant by reverse chronological order. Why are blogs recorded in this way?
c Blog storms have erupted around issues such as Americas participation in the war in
Afghanistan.
What is a blog storm and how might one come about.
d In what ways are blogs important in issues such as freedom of speech and the right of
the people to know what is really going on. For your answer you might like to
research milblogs, especially from soldiers serving in war zones..
8. Over the last few years Twitter has been the leader in breaking news stories News tweets
often appear in the Twittersphere moments after events occur, and long before more
traditional news media report them.
In what ways are instant social connections affecting how news is being, and will be
delivered?

9. Is there a generational approach to privacy?
Are younger people today more open and trusting than earlier generations, or are they
naive about the ramifications of posting personal information in a public space?
10. As an example of the level of specialisation in games, one player in World of Warcraft
developed skills in the art of making wedding dresses. Other players would then come
from all over that zone, and from other zones, to buy these dresses for virtual weddings
that would later take place.
a Comment on the level of absorption some people can develop in playing games. Why
would someone participate in an alternative existence to the level of being involved in
a virtual wedding?
b What are some of the consequences of this level of absorption?
c Explain why someone might commit suicide as a result of their experiences in an
RPG such as EverQuest. (This has been reported as having happened.)
d What consequences does this have for society generally and what should be done to
minimise the effects?
11. In its web based email client Gmail, Google retains the right to scan the text of private
emails to target adverts, and claims copyright on messages and pictures posted.
YouTube is also run by Google.
Find out Googles policy in regard to the use of You Tube.
What are some of the potential abuses that could be made of people using YouTube?
12. Answer the following questions. The best source for answers is the search function on
Wikipedia itself at en.wikipedia.org .
a What is a wiki?
b Who can contribute to a wiki?
c What restrictions apply to wiki contributors?
d How are changes to a wiki controlled?
e How is the vandalism of wikis handled?
f What is Wikipedia?
g What is the original concept behind Wikipedia?
h How is the quality of articles in Wikipedia maintained?
i What advantages does Wikipedia offer over more traditional encyclopaedias?
13. In a social network the strength is not in the individuals involved, but lies more in the
relationships and ties between individuals. The social media are an integral part of the
lives of the meculture.
Explain what you think is meant by this.
In what ways are on-line social networks replacing real world social networks?

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