Gain insights into fundamental database concepts, relational databases, and entity-relationship diagrams. Learn about normalization techniques and basics of SQL to enhance database efficiency.

Databases are universal - they underlie the technology you use every day. They're a crucial component of everything from telecommunications systems, banking systems, and video games to just about any other software system that maintains some amount of persistent data.

In this course, you'll learn about the fundamental concepts of databases, why and when they're used, what relational databases are, and entity-relationship diagrams. You will also be exposed to techniques like normalization that help to increase the efficiency of databases. You'll wrap up with a look at the basics of Structured Query Language (SQL). 

After completing this course, you will be able to move onto more advanced courses involving database systems and SQL.

Database Design Fundamentals for Software Engineers

# The university database

The university database stores details about university students, courses, the semester a student took a particular course (and his mark and grade if he completed it), and what degree program each student is enrolled in. The database is a long way from one that would be suitable for a large tertiary institution, but it does illustrate relationships that are interesting to visualize. 

Consider the following requirements list:

**Entities:**

* STUDENT entity.

* PROGRAM entity.

* COURSE entity.

**Attributes:**

* Students have one or more given names, a surname, a student identifier, a date of birth, and the year they first enrolled. We can treat all given names as a single object—for example, “John Paul”

* A program has a name, a program identifier, the total credit points required to graduate, and the year it commenced.

* A course has a name, a course identifier, a credit point value, a year (for example, year 1), and a semester (for example, semester 1).

**Relationships:**

* The university offers one or more programs.

* A program is made up of one or more courses.

* A student must enroll in a program.

* A student takes the courses that are part of his/her program.

* When a student takes a course, the year and semester he/she attempted it are recorded. When he/she finishes the course, a grade (such as A or B) and a mark (such as 60 percent) are recorded.


Try to design the ER diagram on your own. Give it some time and if you have trouble remembering some of the concepts, feel free to take a look at the previous lessons. 

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In the next lesson, we will discuss the solution to this problem.

In this exercise, you will design the ER diagram for the UNIVERSITY database.

Introduction

Fundamental Concepts

Data Modeling

Entity-Relationship Data Model

The Relational Data Model

Functional Dependencies

Normalization

Structured Query Language

Conclusion

Exercise 1

The university database