Inside Relational Databases with Examples in Access

by Mark Whitehorn, Bill Marklyn

Contents Should we tell you the whole story? Of course, there is an inevitable tension in trying to work like this. For example, in Chapter 16 we talk about referential integrity. There are - sentially six different flavors of referential integrity but Access only s- ports four of them (they are the most important ones however, so you aren’t missing out on too much). The problem is this. Should we tell you about the other two? If we do, as an Access user you have every right to be annoyed that we are telling you about a feature you can’t use. On the other hand, the six different types that we describe are part of the re- tional world and this book is about that world – we are not trying to teach you how to use Access, we are simply using Access to illustrate the relational model. Ultimately we decided to risk your ire and to describe all of the features of the relational model as we see it, even if Access doesn’t support all of them. One advantage of this approach is that if you need to use a different database engine you will almost certainly find the extra information useful. Incidentally, this is not meant to imply that Access is somehow lacking as a relational database engine. The reason we chose it for the first book is that it is such a good example of a relational database tool.

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Mikael Cerbing · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for a university course in databases.
For what it is, its a good book. And I understand how this must be a near impossible book to write. Explain ER-diagrams with words. Explain normalization with words. Explain SQL with words. Not an easy task indeed. Hard enough for some of us to understand with a teacher and practical examples. So in that way they do a very good job in this book. I know more then before after reading it, I would not have understood it without help from the teacher, but this book did help. Also, I dont understand computer stuff easily. So for a third time, its a good book for what it is.
But its so booooooring.... I do not matter how many jokes you try to push in there, its still booooring.
And one last thing. Please dont tell me that this is so easy, "see, easy!" I do not help me as a reader, a reader that have not understood what you are talking about, that the thing is easy. Either you are dicks or I am stupid, I would not like any of the answers, but I dont think you are dicks. Rather write: "when you get it, it will be easy". Because thats how it is with most things, when you understand, it is easy. Please give me hope rather then tell me Im an idiot. Please...

[Allison Thurman]

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