Lecture 3. The relational model

Readings:

• E.F. Codd. A relational model of data for large shared data banks. Communications of the ACM, 1970 (also in the Red Book 3rd Ed.) Focus on Sections 1.1-1.4 and all of Section 2. [pdf]

While reading this paper, try to focus on the following questions:

• What limitations of previous data models does Codd point out in his paper?
• What are the key ideas behind the relational model?

Lecture notes:

• lecture3.pdf

Additional resources:

• Chapters 3 through 5 in the R&G book.
• Lecture notes on SQL (by Prof. Dan Suciu).