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and the Visual Studio Dataset Designer。 Since we’ll need a database to work with； you’ll also
learn how to create a database with Visual Basic Express。
A relational database stores data； such as the lottery numbers in Chapter 10’s example。
Building on that lottery…prediction example； in this chapter； you’ll see how to create a database
application that reads and writes the lottery numbers； and associates winners with a particular
lottery drawing。
Understanding Relational Databases
As a beginner developer； one of your greatest challenges will be how to manage relational database
data。 A relational database is an old piece of technology。 The relational model on which it is based
was written in about 1969 （according to the relational model entry at http：//en。wikipedia。org/
wiki/Relational_model）。 A relational database is defined as follows （http：//en。wikipedia。org/
wiki/Relational_database）：
Strictly； a relational database is merely a collection of relations （frequently called
tables）。 Other items are frequently considered part of the database； as they help to organize
and structure the data； in addition to forcing the database to conform to a set of
requirements。
Relational Database Tables
A relational database is a collection of tables。 When you were reading and writing a file in
Chapter 10’s example； you were actually reading and writing a table of lottery numbers； which
looked something like this：
371
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372 CH AP T E R 1 4 ■ L E A R N I N G A B OU T R E L A TI O N AL DA TA B AS E D AT A
2000。05。31 5 6 13 23 25 37 43
2000。06。03 7 10 11 18 32 41 5
2000。06。07 15 23 24 28 38 39 45
2000。06。10 1 3 12 23 29 33 27
2000。06。14 2 4 13 19 39 45 26
2000。06。17 3 8 17 19 21 25 35
The data is arranged as a table； and thus could be easily converted into a relational data
base table。 In relational database…speak； each row in the file corresponds to a row of data。 But
to create a row of data； you need fields； each of which is also in a column。 A relational database
table is a grid of rows and columns。 When working with a relational database； you don’t
manipulate columns； you manipulate individual rows。
What distinguishes a relational database is that you can bine tables and create more
plicated data structures。 It is the relationships （called relations） between pieces of data
that make a relational database so powerful。 For the lottery data； a relation could be who won
the jackpot on the draw dates。 Modifying the table to include the person who won would look
this：
2000。05。31 nobody 5 6 13 23 25 37 43
2000。06。03 nobody 7 10 11 18 32 41 5
2000。06。07 nobody 15 23 24 28 38 39 45
2000。06。10 jack 1 3 12 23 29 33 27
2000。06。14 nobody 2 4 13 19 39 45 26
2000。06。17 nobody 3 8 17 19 21 25 35
For the most part； no one won the jackpot。 But on June 10； 2000 （2000。06。10）； a person
named Jack won the jackpot。 You might know a Jack。 I might know a Jack。 But would he be the
same Jack？ Probably not。 So to distinguish winner Jack from another Jack； you would need his
full name； address； and other details。 But where do you put this extra information？
Do you put the information about Jack into the lottery data table？ Or do you create another
table？ The answer is that you create another table。 But since you are working with files； it will
be a file； not a table。 The file will be called jack。txt because the winner of the lottery jackpot
was Jack。 The jack。txt file could contain the following information。
Jack Smith
Address
City
Country
The information in jack。txt and the information in the lottery data file have a relation。 The
relation is the winner of the jackpot。 This is what a relational database is all about。 The reason you
use a relational database and not files that cross…reference each other is because a relational
database is extremely efficient at managing tables and relations。 The techniques demonstrated
in Chapter 10 are nowhere near as efficient and effective as using a relational database。
Relational databases are quite capable of handling terabytes of data。 Additionally； relational
databases are capable of building efficient relations that span terabytes of data。
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C HA P TE R 1 4 ■ L E AR N I N G AB O U T R E L AT IO N A L D AT AB A SE D A TA 373
Database Relations
Relations are very powerful； but they can also make things extremely plicated。 When you
split tables and create relations between the tables； you are normalizing the data。 Database
normalization is defined as follows （http：//en。wikipedia。org/wiki/Database_normalization）：
Database normalization is a technique for designing relational database tables to
minimize duplication of information and； in so doing； to safeguard the database
against certain types of logical or structural problems； namely data anomalies。 For
example； when multiple instances of a given piece of information occur in a table； the
possibility exists that these instances will not be kept consistent when the data within
the table is updated； leading to a loss of data integrity。 A table that is sufficiently
normalized is less vulnerable to problems of this kind； because its structure reflects the
basic assumptions for when multiple instances of the same information should be
represented by a single instance only。
For example； the data on the winner and the data on the lottery ticket are kept in separate
tables； making the overall data structure more efficient from a maintenance and performance
point of view。
Creating relations between tables is a form of referencing； where one table says informa
tion here references information in another table。 The referencing is carried out using columns
of one table that are cross…referenced with columns of another table。
The lottery ticket example is interesting because of the relations between the lottery draws
and the winners； which could be of two types：
o One draw to many winners： When a lottery ticket is drawn； there can be many winners。
o One winner to many draws： Even though it is improbable； one winner could win
multiple draws。
In the file example； you saw the one…winner…to…many…draws relation。 You probably did
not think it was that type of relation； and more likely thought it was a one…draw…to…one…winner
relation。 But consider the following text file； where jack is referenced twice。
2000。05。31 nobody 5 6 13 23 25 37 43
2000。06。03 jack 7 10 11 18 32 41 5
2000。06。07 nobody 15 23 24 28 38 39 45
2000。06。10 jack 1 3 12 23 29 33 27
2000。06。14 nobody 2 4 13 19 39 45 26
2000。06。17 nobody 3 8 17 19 21 25 35
The table of draws has the ability to reference the same winner twice； which means the
relation of one winner to many draws is possible。 To add the relation of one draw to many
winners； the table would need to be modified like this：
2000。05。31 nobody 5 6 13 23 25 37 43
2000。06。03 jack jill 7 10 11 18 32