Assignment

THIS MUST BE YOUR OWN UNIQUE WORK: you cannot have the exact same table as another student and you cannot turn in something you find online!Your work will be checked against a plagiarism database.

The format must be Microsoft Word (or an equivalent .rtf word processor file). You must create a new database with at least four tables. In creating this database you must:

1. Create a correct ER diagram for the database (this can be done by hand, but if done by hand it should be converted to electronic format by camera or scanner and embedded inside your word document). The ER diagram must correctly use the conventions we used in class for rectangles, dashed and solid lines, cardinality symbols etc. OR if you use database software to create your ER that uses slightly different diagramming symbols you must have a key that clearly explains the symbols you are using (if you provide a diagram using a symbol or convention and do not provide an explanation I have to assume you just made a mistake in creating your diagram).

2. List all functional dependencies and confirm that the database is in at least 4NF (do not assume the functional dependencies are obvious from the ER diagram or SQL create statements).

3. Use SQL commands to create and populate the database (there do not need to be many rows but every table must have more than ten rows) and enforce maximum and minimum cardinality. If you need triggers to enforce cardinality, you do not have to create the triggers,however, you MUST list that triggers are needed when necessary (what would need to be done to enforce cardinality).

4. Create four example SQL queries that would use the database that must include a minimum of:

a. an aggregate function
b. a join
c. a nested query
d. a derived table

Note, the intended use of each query should be listed (for example "this query brings back the number of cars of each employee").

5. Format notes: the final project must have a professional format, your paper may contain explanations of the code, but at the end of your paper I want all of the SQL grouped without comments so that it may be easily copied and pasted from your document into my database SQL editor (so that I can quickly test your code). Failure to follow these format guidelines will result in a loss of points (up to 11% of the final project grade).

Common problems with this project from previous semesters (mistakes NOT to make):

Did not use dashed lines for strong entities in E-R diagrams

Forced single entities into multiple tables

Didn't give me the final ER diagram (ER diagram and tables didn't match)

Identifiers in ER diagram didn't become primary keys

ER diagram wasn't a true ER diagram it was part finished tables, part ER diagram.

Didn't show cardinality

Used some unknown symbol in the ER diagram

Incorrectly identified cardinality

Listed a column as a FK that was not a PK in another table (this would not be possible)

Create a table with a single column

Didn't create intersection tables with M:N cardinality

Didn't say triggers were necessary for minimum cardinality O-M and M-M cases

Mistakes with functional dependencies: functional dependencies sometimes included items that were not dependent on the determinant or other obvious mistakes, not all functional dependencies were listed

SQL syntax mistakes

For the database, I would like to use something medical, as that is my field. Perhaps, patient name, Medical Record Number, Tests? If possible, it would seem more like original work.