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Introduction of ER Model
Last Updated : 16 Jan, 2025

We typically follow the below steps for designing a database for an application.

Gather the requirements (functional and data) by asking questions to the

database users.
Do a logical or conceptual design of the database. This is where ER model
plays a role. It is the most used graphical representation of the conceptual
design of a database.
Physical Database Design (Like indexing) and external design (like views)

The Entity Relationship Model is a model for identifying entities (like student, car
or company) to be represented in the database and representation of how those
entities are related. The ER data model specifies enterprise schema that
represents the overall logical structure of a database graphically.

Why Use ER Diagrams In DBMS?

ER diagrams represent the E-R model in a database, making them easy to
convert into relations (tables).
ER diagrams provide the purpose of real-world modeling of objects which
makes them intently useful.
ER diagrams require no technical knowledge of the underlying DBMS used.
It gives a standard solution for visualizing the data logically.

Symbols Used in ER Model

ER Model is used to model the logical view of the system from a data
perspective which consists of these symbols:

Rectangles: Rectangles represent Entities in the ER Model.

Ellipses: Ellipses represent Attributes in the ER Model.
Diamond: Diamonds represent Relationships among Entities.
Lines: Lines represent attributes to entities and entity sets with other
relationship types.
 Double Ellipse: Double Ellipses represent Multi-Valued Attributes.
Double Rectangle: Double Rectangle represents a Weak Entity.

Symbols used in ER Diagram

Components of ER Diagram
ER Model consists of Entities, Attributes, and Relationships among Entities in a
Database System.

Components of ER Diagram

What is Entity?
An Entity may be an object with a physical existence – a particular person, car,
house, or employee – or it may be an object with a conceptual existence – a
company, a job, or a university course.

What is Entity Set?

An Entity is an object of Entity Type and a set of all entities is called an entity
set. For Example, E1 is an entity having Entity Type Student and the set of all
students is called Entity Set. In ER diagram, Entity Type is represented as:

Entity Set

We can represent the entity set in ER Diagram but can’t represent entity in ER
Diagram because entity is row and column in the relation and ER Diagram is
graphical representation of data.

Types of Entity
There are two types of entity:

1. Strong Entity

A Strong Entity is a type of entity that has a key Attribute. Strong Entity does not
depend on other Entity in the Schema. It has a primary key, that helps in
identifying it uniquely, and it is represented by a rectangle. These are called
Strong Entity Types.

2. Weak Entity

An Entity type has a key attribute that uniquely identifies each entity in the entity
set. But some entity type exists for which key attributes can’t be defined. These
are called Weak Entity types .

For Example, A company may store the information of dependents (Parents,

Children, Spouse) of an Employee. But the dependents can’t exist without the
employee. So Dependent will be a Weak Entity Type and Employee will be
Identifying Entity type for Dependent, which means it is Strong Entity Type .

A weak entity type is represented by a Double Rectangle. The participation of

weak entity types is always total. The relationship between the weak entity type
and its identifying strong entity type is called identifying relationship and it is
represented by a double diamond.

Strong Entity and Weak Entity

What is Attributes?
Attributes are the properties that define the entity type. For example, Roll_No,
Name, DOB, Age, Address, and Mobile_No are the attributes that define entity
type Student. In ER diagram, the attribute is represented by an oval.

Attribute

Types of Attributes

1. Key Attribute

The attribute which uniquely identifies each entity in the entity set is called the
key attribute. For example, Roll_No will be unique for each student. In ER
diagram, the key attribute is represented by an oval with underlying lines.
 Key Attribute

2. Composite Attribute

An attribute composed of many other attributes is called a composite attribute.

For example, the Address attribute of the student Entity type consists of Street,
City, State, and Country. In ER diagram, the composite attribute is represented by
an oval comprising of ovals.

Composite Attribute

3. Multivalued Attribute

An attribute consisting of more than one value for a given entity. For example,
Phone_No (can be more than one for a given student). In ER diagram, a
multivalued attribute is represented by a double oval.

Multivalued Attribute

4. Derived Attribute

An attribute that can be derived from other attributes of the entity type is known
as a derived attribute. e.g.; Age (can be derived from DOB). In ER diagram, the
derived attribute is represented by a dashed oval.
 Derived Attribute

The Complete Entity Type Student with its Attributes can be represented as:

Entity and Attributes

Relationship Type and Relationship Set

A Relationship Type represents the association between entity types. For
example, ‘Enrolled in’ is a relationship type that exists between entity type
Student and Course. In ER diagram, the relationship type is represented by a
diamond and connecting the entities with lines.

Entity-Relationship Set

A set of relationships of the same type is known as a relationship set. The

following relationship set depicts S1 as enrolled in C2, S2 as enrolled in C1, and
S3 as registered in C3.

Relationship Set

Degree of a Relationship Set

The number of different entity sets participating in a relationship set is called the
degree of a relationship set.

1. Unary Relationship: When there is only ONE entity set participating in a

relation, the relationship is called a unary relationship. For example, one person
is married to only one person.

Unary Relationship

2. Binary Relationship: When there are TWO entities set participating in a

relationship, the relationship is called a binary relationship. For example, a
Student is enrolled in a Course.

Binary Relationship

3. Ternary Relationship: When there are three entity sets participating in a

relationship, the relationship is called a ternary relationship.

4. N-ary Relationship: When there are n entities set participating in a

relationship, the relationship is called an n-ary relationship.

What is Cardinality?
The number of times an entity of an entity set participates in a relationship set is
known as cardinality . Cardinality can be of different types:

1. One-to-One: When each entity in each entity set can take part only once in the
relationship, the cardinality is one-to-one. Let us assume that a male can marry
one female and a female can marry one male. So the relationship will be one-to-
one.
the total number of tables that can be used in this is 2.

one to one cardinality

Using Sets, it can be represented as:

Set Representation of One-to-One

2. One-to-Many: In one-to-many mapping as well where each entity can be

related to more than one entity and the total number of tables that can be used
in this is 2. Let us assume that one surgeon department can accommodate
many doctors. So the Cardinality will be 1 to M. It means one department has
many Doctors.

total number of tables that can used is 3.

 one to many cardinality

Using sets, one-to-many cardinality can be represented as:

Set Representation of One-to-Many

3. Many-to-One: When entities in one entity set can take part only once in the
relationship set and entities in other entity sets can take part more than once in
the relationship set, cardinality is many to one. Let us assume that a student can
take only one course but one course can be taken by many students. So the
cardinality will be n to 1. It means that for one course there can be n students
but for one student, there will be only one course.

The total number of tables that can be used in this is 3.

 many to one cardinality

Using Sets, it can be represented as:

Set Representation of Many-to-One

In this case, each student is taking only 1 course but 1 course has been taken by
many students.

4. Many-to-Many: When entities in all entity sets can take part more than once
in the relationship cardinality is many to many. Let us assume that a student can
take more than one course and one course can be taken by many students. So
the relationship will be many to many.

the total number of tables that can be used in this is 3.

 many to many cardinality

Using Sets, it can be represented as:

Many-to-Many Set Representation

In this example, student S1 is enrolled in C1 and C3 and Course C3 is enrolled by

S1, S3, and S4. So it is many-to-many relationships.

Participation Constraint
Participation Constraint is applied to the entity participating in the relationship
set.

1. Total Participation – Each entity in the entity set must participate in the
relationship. If each student must enroll in a course, the participation of
students will be total. Total participation is shown by a double line in the ER
diagram.

2. Partial Participation – The entity in the entity set may or may NOT participate
in the relationship. If some courses are not enrolled by any of the students, the
participation in the course will be partial.
The diagram depicts the ‘Enrolled in’ relationship set with Student Entity set
having total participation and Course Entity set having partial participation.

Total Participation and Partial Participation

Using Set, it can be represented as,

Set representation of Total Participation and Partial Participation

Every student in the Student Entity set participates in a relationship but there
exists a course C4 that is not taking part in the relationship.

How to Draw ER Diagram?

The very first step is Identifying all the Entities, and place them in a
Rectangle, and labeling them accordingly.
The next step is to identify the relationship between them and place them
accordingly using the Diamond, and make sure that, Relationships are not
connected to each other.
Attach attributes to the entities properly.
Remove redundant entities and relationships.
Add proper colors to highlight the data present in the database.

Conclusion
An Entity-Relationship (ER) model is a way to visually represent the structure of a
database. It shows how different entities (like objects or concepts) are
connected and interact with each other through relationships. The model uses
diagrams to represent entities as rectangles and relationships as diamonds,
making it easier to design and understand databases .

Frequently Asked Questions on ER Model – FAQ’s

What is the main purpose of an ER Diagram?

ER Diagrams are used to visually represent the structure of a database,

showing entities, their attributes, and relationships between them.

How do ER Diagrams help in database design?

They simplify the process of mapping out the database structure, making it
easier to organize data and understand how different entities interact.

What is the difference between a Weak Entity and a Strong Entity?

A Strong Entity has a unique identifier or primary key, while a Weak Entity
lacks a primary key and relies on a Strong Entity for identification.

Can ER Diagrams represent complex data relationships?

Yes, ER Diagrams can model complex relationships, including one-to-one,

one-to-many, and many-to-many relationships.

Why are Participation Constraints used in ER Diagrams?

Participation Constraints indicate whether all entities must participate in a

relationship or if only some may do so, helping to accurately represent real-
world scenarios.
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