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Database Design Concepts

Although a database can be modified after the initial set up, it saves time and bad headaches to
spend some time designing it properly initially.
Examine the Student table below.
Ques. Why is it poorly designed?
Name
Address
Mary Brown
. . . 10 Joes Lanes, Maribund Park, Kingston 23
John Clarke
26 Sarah Road, Westminster, Kingston 45
Sharon Williams
165 Alabama Street, Kara Gardens, Kingston 78
Tom Henry
Lot 5412, Dreyfus Avenue, East Tracey, Clarendon
Ans : You can not isolate and so sort by last name or area, you can only sort by name and
address.

First Name Last Name


Mary
Brown
John
Clarke
Sharon
Williams
Tom
Henry

Street
10 Joes Lane
26 Sarah Road
165 Alabama Street
Lot 5412, Dreyfus Avenue

Area
Maribund Park
Westminster
Kara Gardens
East Tracey

Parish
Kingston 23
Kingston 45
Kingston 78
Clarendon

The table above shows a better approach. Here the data has been separated into several different
fields.
Here are some guidelines for creating a well-designed database:

Write down the purpose of the database


Start with the output - what reports or pieces of information do you want to be able to get
out of the database?
Determine what data will need to be stored in order to generate that information; write
down the appropriate data type for each field
Organize the fields in terms of what subject or entity they describe,. These will form your
tables. Each table should store data about just one thing or person; What is the
relationship between the tables? Sometimes that in itself is also a separate table
Generally you should ensure that each table has a primary key
Decide on the links between the tables
Using a diagramming tool to document the database design, the tables and their
relationships should be depicted on the diagrams (E-R Diagram)
Break up the information into small pieces (many tables is always better than one poorly
designed table)
Use different field names in each table (Use a stem and a unique identifier on each table)

Use a prefix to identify your database object


o tbl for tables
o qry for queries
o frm for forms
o rpt for reports
o mcr for macros
o

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