Database Design and Relational Theory: Normal Forms and All That Jazz

by C.J. Date

What makes this book different from others on database design? Many resources on design practice do little to explain the underlying theory, and books on design theory are aimed primarily at theoreticians. In this book, renowned expert Chris Date bridges the gap by introducing design theory in ways practitioners can understand―drawing on lessons learned over four decades of experience to demonstrate why proper database design is so critical in the first place. Every chapter includes a set of exercises that show how to apply the theoretical ideas in practice, provide additional information, or ask you to prove some simple theoretical result. If you’re a database professional familiar with the relational model, and have more than a passing interest in database design, this book is for you. Questions this book answers

Genres: Technical, Technology, Programming, Computer Science, Textbooks

274 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Christopher J. Date (born 1941) is an independent author, lecturer, researcher, and consultant, specializing in relational database theory.
—from wikipedia

Reviews

[Helen Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not a dry database textbook. it's not beginner friendly though. It assumes you know about the basics like the NFs and the redundancies. The approach is mathematical and very much grounded on author's experience. I like how I can consider this a foundational read in developing apps even in the age of cloud.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book presents enough theory for a formal discussion, and also ilustrates with examples.

It seems to be as close to practical a theoretical book can be.

[James A · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit heavy but a great read that helps to both sharpen current skills in database planning and development as well as getting a broader perspective on current perspectives of relational theory