Applied Mathematics for Database Professionals

Authors:Lex de Haan, Toon Koppelaars
Pages:376
Publisher:Apress
ISBN:9781590597453
Description:

Relational databases hold data, right? They indeed do, but to think of a database as nothing more than a container for data is to miss out on the profound power that underlies relational technology. A far more powerful way of thinking lies in relational technology's foundation in the mathematical disciplines of logic and set theory.

Databases contain truths or propositions describing some area of interest such as a business. Those truths are organized into sets. Operations from logic and set theory can be applied to existing sets of truths to derive new sets of truths. Applied Mathematics for Database Professionals introduces you to this way of thinking, to the logic and set theory that underlies relational database technology. All this may sound abstract now, but there are profound benefits from the deeper understanding you'll gain from this book. You'll learn to

Become a better database designer. You'll make fewer mistakes, and your designs will be more flexible in response to changing data needs.
Use the expressive power of mathematics to precisely specify designs and business rules.
Communicate effectively about design using the universal language of mathematics.
Develop and write complex SQL statements with confidence.
Avoid pitfalls and problems from common relational bugaboos such as null values and duplicate rows.

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