1
Lecture 6:
Schema refinement: Functional
dependencies
www.cl.cam.ac.uk/Teaching/current/Databases/
2
Recall: Database design
lifecycle
• Requirements analysis
– User needs; what must database do?
• Conceptual design
– High-level description; often using E/R model
• Logical design
– Translate E/R model into relational schema
• Schema refinement
– Check schema for redundancies and anomalies
• Physical design/tuning
– Consider typical workloads, and further optimise
Next
two
lectures
3
Today’s lecture
• Why are some designs bad?
• What’s a functional dependency?
• What’s the theory of functional
dependencies?
• (Next lecture: How can we use this theory
to classify redundancy in relation design?)
4
Not all designs are
equally good
• Why is this design bad?
Data(sid,sname,address,cid,cname,grade)
• Why is this one preferable?
Student(sid,sname,address)
Course(cid,cname)
Enrolled(sid,cid,grade)
5
An instance of our bad
design
sid sname addres
s
ci
d
cname grade
124 Britney USA 206 Database A++
204 Victoria Essex 202 Semantics C
124 Britney USA 201 S/Eng I A+
206 Emma London 206 Database B-
124 Britney USA 202 Semantics B+
6
Evils of redundancy
• Redundancy is the root of many problems associated with
relational schemas
– Redundant storage
– Update anomalies
– Insertion anomalies
– Deletion anomalies
– LOW TRANSACTION THROUGHPUT
• In general, with higher redundancy, if transactions are
correct (no anomalies), then they have to lock more objects
thus causing greater contention and lower throughput
• (Aside: Could having a dummy value, NULL, help?)
7
Decomposition
• We remove anomalies by replacing the schema
Data(sid,sname,address,cid,cname,grade)
with
Student(sid,sname,address)
Course(cid,cname)
Enrolled(sid,cid,grade)
• Note the implicit extra cost here
• Two immediate questions:
1. Do we need to decompose a relation?
2. What problems might result from a decomposition?
8
Functional dependencies
• Recall:
– A key is a set of fields where if a pair of tuples
agree on a key, they agree everywhere
• In our bad design, if two tuples agree on
sid, then they also agree on address,
even though the rest of the tuples may not
agree
9
Functional dependencies
cont.
• We can say that sid determines address
– We’ll write this
sid  address
• This is called a functional dependency
(FD)
• (Note: An FD is just another integrity
constraint)
10
Functional dependencies
cont.
• We’d expect the following functional
dependencies to hold in our Student database
– sid  sname,address
– cid  cname
– sid,cid  grade
• A functional dependency X  Y is simply a
pair of sets (of field names)
– Note: the sloppy notation A,B  C,D rather than
{A,B}  {C,D}
11
Formalities
• Given a relation R=R(A1:1, …, An:n), and X, Y
({A1, …, An}), an instance r of R satisfies
XY, if
– For any two tuples t1, t2 in R, if t1.X=t2.X then
t1.Y=t2.Y
• Note: This is a semantic assertion. We can
not look at an instance to determine which FDs
hold (although we can tell if the instance does
not satisfy an FD!)
12
Properties of FDs
• Assume that X  Y and Y  Z are known to hold
in R. It’s clear that X  Z holds too.
• We shall say that an FD set F logically implies
X  Y, and write F [X  Y
– e.g. {X  Y, Y  Z} [ X  Z
• The closure of F is the set of all FDs logically
implied by F, i.e.
F+
@ {XY | F [ XY}
• The set F+
can be big, even if F is small 
13
Closure of a set of FDs
• Which of the following are in the closure of
our Student FDs?
– addressaddress
– cidcname
– cidcname,sname
– cid,sidcname,sname
14
Candidate keys and FDs
• If R=R(A1:1, …, An:n) with FDs F and
X{A1, …, An}, then X is a candidate key
for R if
– X  A1, …,An  F+
– For no proper subset YX is
Y  A1, …,An  F+
15
Armstrong’s axioms
• Reflexivity: If YX then F  XY
– (This is called a trivial dependency)
– Example: sname,addressaddress
• Augmentation: If F  XY then F 
X,WY,W
– Example: As cidcname then
cid,sidcname,sid
• Transitivity: If F  XY and F  YZ then F 
XZ
– Example: As sid,cidcid and
cidcname, then sid,cidcname
16
Consequences of
Armstrong’s axioms
• Union: If F  XY and F  XZ then F 
XY,Z
• Pseudo-transitivity: If F  XY and F 
W,YZ then F  X,WZ
• Decomposition: If F  XY and ZY then F 
XZ
Exercise: Prove that these are consequences of
Armstrong’s axioms
17
Proof of Union Rule
Suppose that F  XY and F  XZ.
By augmentation we have
F  XX,Y
since X U X = X. Also by augmentation
F  X,YZ,Y
Therefore, by transitivity we have
F  XZ,Y
QED
18
Functional Dependencies Can be
useful in Algebraic Reasoning
Suppose R(A,B,C) is a relation schema
with dependency AB, then
)
(
, R
R B
A
π
= )
(
, R
C
A
π
A
(This is called Heath’s rule.)
19
Proof of Heath’s Rule
)
(
, R
C
A
π
A
First show that
Suppose
then
and
Since
we have )
(
, R
C
A
π
A
20
Proof of Heath’s Rule (cont.)
A
In the other direction, we must show that
Suppose Then there must exist records
and
There must also exist
Therefore, we have
so that
QED
But the functional dependency tells us that
21
Equivalence
• Two sets of FDs, F and G, are said to be
equivalent if F+
=G+
• For example:
{(A,BC), (AB)} and
{(AC), (AB)}
are equivalent
• F+
can be huge – we’d prefer to look for
small equivalent FD sets
22
Minimal cover
• An FD set, F, is said to be minimal if
1. Every FD in F is of the form XA, where A is a
single attribute
2. For no XA in F is F-{XA} equivalent to F
3. For no XA in F and ZX is
(F-{XA}){ZA} equivalent to F
1. For example, {(AC), (AB)} is a minimal
cover for {(A,BC), (AB)}
23
More on closures
• FACT: If F is an FD set, and XYF+
then
there exists an attribute AY such that
XAF+
24
Why Armstrong’s axioms?
• Soundness
– If F  XY is deduced using the rules, then
XY is true in any relation in which the
dependencies of F are true
• Completeness
– If XY is is true in any relation in which the
dependencies of F are true, then F  XY can
be deduced using the rules
25
Soundness
• Consider the Augmentation rule:
– We have XY, i.e. if t1.X=t2.X then t1.Y=t2.Y
– If in addition t1.W=t2.W then it is clear that t1.
(Y,W)=t2.(Y,W)
26
Soundness cont.
Consider the Transitivity rule:
– We have XY, i.e. if t1.X=t2.X then t1.Y=t2.Y
(*)
– We have YZ, i.e. if t1.Y=t2.Y then t1.Z=t2.Z
(**)
– Take two tuples s1 and s2 such that s1.X=s2.X
then from (*) s1.Y=s2.Y and then from (**)
s1.Z=s2.Z
27
Completeness
• Exercise
– (You may need the fact from slide 23)
28
Attribute closure
• If we want to check whether XY is in a closure of the
set F, could compute F+
and check – but expensive 
• Cheaper: We can instead compute the attribute
closure, X+
, using the following algorithm:
• Then F  XY iff Y is a subset of X+
Try this with sid,snamecname,grade
closure:= X;
repeat until no change{
if UVF, where Uclosure
then closure:=closureV
};
29
Preview of next lecture:
Goals of normalisation
• Decide whether a relation is in “good form”
• If it is not, then we will “decompose” it into a
set of relations such that
– Each relation is in “good form”
– The decomposition has not lost any information
that was present in the original relation
• The theory of this process and the notion of
“good form” is based on FDs
30
Summary
You should now understand:
• Redundancy and various forms of anomalies
• Functional dependencies
• Armstrong’s axioms
Next lecture: Schema refinement:
Normalisation

Functional Dependencies in rdbms with examples

  • 1.
    1 Lecture 6: Schema refinement:Functional dependencies www.cl.cam.ac.uk/Teaching/current/Databases/
  • 2.
    2 Recall: Database design lifecycle •Requirements analysis – User needs; what must database do? • Conceptual design – High-level description; often using E/R model • Logical design – Translate E/R model into relational schema • Schema refinement – Check schema for redundancies and anomalies • Physical design/tuning – Consider typical workloads, and further optimise Next two lectures
  • 3.
    3 Today’s lecture • Whyare some designs bad? • What’s a functional dependency? • What’s the theory of functional dependencies? • (Next lecture: How can we use this theory to classify redundancy in relation design?)
  • 4.
    4 Not all designsare equally good • Why is this design bad? Data(sid,sname,address,cid,cname,grade) • Why is this one preferable? Student(sid,sname,address) Course(cid,cname) Enrolled(sid,cid,grade)
  • 5.
    5 An instance ofour bad design sid sname addres s ci d cname grade 124 Britney USA 206 Database A++ 204 Victoria Essex 202 Semantics C 124 Britney USA 201 S/Eng I A+ 206 Emma London 206 Database B- 124 Britney USA 202 Semantics B+
  • 6.
    6 Evils of redundancy •Redundancy is the root of many problems associated with relational schemas – Redundant storage – Update anomalies – Insertion anomalies – Deletion anomalies – LOW TRANSACTION THROUGHPUT • In general, with higher redundancy, if transactions are correct (no anomalies), then they have to lock more objects thus causing greater contention and lower throughput • (Aside: Could having a dummy value, NULL, help?)
  • 7.
    7 Decomposition • We removeanomalies by replacing the schema Data(sid,sname,address,cid,cname,grade) with Student(sid,sname,address) Course(cid,cname) Enrolled(sid,cid,grade) • Note the implicit extra cost here • Two immediate questions: 1. Do we need to decompose a relation? 2. What problems might result from a decomposition?
  • 8.
    8 Functional dependencies • Recall: –A key is a set of fields where if a pair of tuples agree on a key, they agree everywhere • In our bad design, if two tuples agree on sid, then they also agree on address, even though the rest of the tuples may not agree
  • 9.
    9 Functional dependencies cont. • Wecan say that sid determines address – We’ll write this sid  address • This is called a functional dependency (FD) • (Note: An FD is just another integrity constraint)
  • 10.
    10 Functional dependencies cont. • We’dexpect the following functional dependencies to hold in our Student database – sid  sname,address – cid  cname – sid,cid  grade • A functional dependency X  Y is simply a pair of sets (of field names) – Note: the sloppy notation A,B  C,D rather than {A,B}  {C,D}
  • 11.
    11 Formalities • Given arelation R=R(A1:1, …, An:n), and X, Y ({A1, …, An}), an instance r of R satisfies XY, if – For any two tuples t1, t2 in R, if t1.X=t2.X then t1.Y=t2.Y • Note: This is a semantic assertion. We can not look at an instance to determine which FDs hold (although we can tell if the instance does not satisfy an FD!)
  • 12.
    12 Properties of FDs •Assume that X  Y and Y  Z are known to hold in R. It’s clear that X  Z holds too. • We shall say that an FD set F logically implies X  Y, and write F [X  Y – e.g. {X  Y, Y  Z} [ X  Z • The closure of F is the set of all FDs logically implied by F, i.e. F+ @ {XY | F [ XY} • The set F+ can be big, even if F is small 
  • 13.
    13 Closure of aset of FDs • Which of the following are in the closure of our Student FDs? – addressaddress – cidcname – cidcname,sname – cid,sidcname,sname
  • 14.
    14 Candidate keys andFDs • If R=R(A1:1, …, An:n) with FDs F and X{A1, …, An}, then X is a candidate key for R if – X  A1, …,An  F+ – For no proper subset YX is Y  A1, …,An  F+
  • 15.
    15 Armstrong’s axioms • Reflexivity:If YX then F XY – (This is called a trivial dependency) – Example: sname,addressaddress • Augmentation: If F XY then F X,WY,W – Example: As cidcname then cid,sidcname,sid • Transitivity: If F XY and F YZ then F XZ – Example: As sid,cidcid and cidcname, then sid,cidcname
  • 16.
    16 Consequences of Armstrong’s axioms •Union: If F XY and F XZ then F XY,Z • Pseudo-transitivity: If F XY and F W,YZ then F X,WZ • Decomposition: If F XY and ZY then F XZ Exercise: Prove that these are consequences of Armstrong’s axioms
  • 17.
    17 Proof of UnionRule Suppose that F XY and F XZ. By augmentation we have F XX,Y since X U X = X. Also by augmentation F X,YZ,Y Therefore, by transitivity we have F XZ,Y QED
  • 18.
    18 Functional Dependencies Canbe useful in Algebraic Reasoning Suppose R(A,B,C) is a relation schema with dependency AB, then ) ( , R R B A π = ) ( , R C A π A (This is called Heath’s rule.)
  • 19.
    19 Proof of Heath’sRule ) ( , R C A π A First show that Suppose then and Since we have ) ( , R C A π A
  • 20.
    20 Proof of Heath’sRule (cont.) A In the other direction, we must show that Suppose Then there must exist records and There must also exist Therefore, we have so that QED But the functional dependency tells us that
  • 21.
    21 Equivalence • Two setsof FDs, F and G, are said to be equivalent if F+ =G+ • For example: {(A,BC), (AB)} and {(AC), (AB)} are equivalent • F+ can be huge – we’d prefer to look for small equivalent FD sets
  • 22.
    22 Minimal cover • AnFD set, F, is said to be minimal if 1. Every FD in F is of the form XA, where A is a single attribute 2. For no XA in F is F-{XA} equivalent to F 3. For no XA in F and ZX is (F-{XA}){ZA} equivalent to F 1. For example, {(AC), (AB)} is a minimal cover for {(A,BC), (AB)}
  • 23.
    23 More on closures •FACT: If F is an FD set, and XYF+ then there exists an attribute AY such that XAF+
  • 24.
    24 Why Armstrong’s axioms? •Soundness – If F XY is deduced using the rules, then XY is true in any relation in which the dependencies of F are true • Completeness – If XY is is true in any relation in which the dependencies of F are true, then F XY can be deduced using the rules
  • 25.
    25 Soundness • Consider theAugmentation rule: – We have XY, i.e. if t1.X=t2.X then t1.Y=t2.Y – If in addition t1.W=t2.W then it is clear that t1. (Y,W)=t2.(Y,W)
  • 26.
    26 Soundness cont. Consider theTransitivity rule: – We have XY, i.e. if t1.X=t2.X then t1.Y=t2.Y (*) – We have YZ, i.e. if t1.Y=t2.Y then t1.Z=t2.Z (**) – Take two tuples s1 and s2 such that s1.X=s2.X then from (*) s1.Y=s2.Y and then from (**) s1.Z=s2.Z
  • 27.
    27 Completeness • Exercise – (Youmay need the fact from slide 23)
  • 28.
    28 Attribute closure • Ifwe want to check whether XY is in a closure of the set F, could compute F+ and check – but expensive  • Cheaper: We can instead compute the attribute closure, X+ , using the following algorithm: • Then F XY iff Y is a subset of X+ Try this with sid,snamecname,grade closure:= X; repeat until no change{ if UVF, where Uclosure then closure:=closureV };
  • 29.
    29 Preview of nextlecture: Goals of normalisation • Decide whether a relation is in “good form” • If it is not, then we will “decompose” it into a set of relations such that – Each relation is in “good form” – The decomposition has not lost any information that was present in the original relation • The theory of this process and the notion of “good form” is based on FDs
  • 30.
    30 Summary You should nowunderstand: • Redundancy and various forms of anomalies • Functional dependencies • Armstrong’s axioms Next lecture: Schema refinement: Normalisation