Database Management System
Draw ER diagram for University database with extended features (EERD). Consider all important entities, their attributes, relationship, generalization/specialization and aggregation. Also show participation between entities where possible.Draw ER diagram for University database with extended features (EERD). Consider all important entities, their attributes, relationship, generalization/specialization and aggregation. Also show participation between entities where possible.
The Correct Answer and Explanation is :
In a University database, an Extended Entity Relationship Diagram (EERD) represents all the essential elements such as entities, attributes, relationships, generalization/specialization, and aggregation. Here’s a breakdown of the core components for such an EERD:
Entities:
- Student
- Attributes: Student_ID (Primary Key), Name, Date_of_Birth, Gender, Enrollment_Date, Major.
- Course
- Attributes: Course_ID (Primary Key), Course_Name, Credits, Department.
- Professor
- Attributes: Professor_ID (Primary Key), Name, Department, Salary, Office_Location.
- Department
- Attributes: Department_ID (Primary Key), Department_Name, Location.
- Classroom
- Attributes: Classroom_ID (Primary Key), Room_Number, Building.
- Enrollment
- Attributes: Enrollment_ID (Primary Key), Date_Enrolled, Grade.
- Degree
- Attributes: Degree_ID (Primary Key), Degree_Name, Department.
Relationships:
- Student-Course (Enrollment)
- A student can enroll in many courses, and a course can have many students.
- Relationship: Many-to-Many (M:N)
- The Enrollment entity connects the two.
- Course-Professor (Teaches)
- A professor can teach many courses, and a course is taught by one professor.
- Relationship: One-to-Many (1:N)
- Department-Professor
- A department can have many professors, and a professor belongs to one department.
- Relationship: One-to-Many (1:N)
- Department-Course
- A department can offer many courses, and a course belongs to one department.
- Relationship: One-to-Many (1:N)
Generalization/Specialization:
- Person is a generalized entity with specializations: Student and Professor.
- Generalization shows the common attributes such as Name, ID, Date_of_Birth, and Gender. The Student and Professor entities are specialized from the Person entity.
Aggregation:
- Enrollment can be an aggregation of Student, Course, and Professor, since enrollment involves these entities working together.
Participation Constraints:
- Total Participation: Every student must enroll in at least one course, and each course must have at least one professor.
- Partial Participation: Not all professors must teach courses, and not all courses need students immediately.
Explanation (300 words):
In the University database’s EERD, entities represent objects of interest, such as Student, Course, Professor, Department, etc. The relationships between these entities define how they interact with each other. For example, a Student can enroll in multiple Courses, which is a many-to-many relationship represented by the Enrollment entity. Additionally, a Professor can teach multiple Courses, creating a one-to-many relationship.
The Person entity is generalized into Student and Professor to represent their shared attributes (e.g., Name, ID), but each has specialized attributes like Enrollment_Date for Student and Salary for Professor.
For aggregation, the Enrollment relationship ties together Student, Course, and Professor, indicating that all three entities are involved in the enrollment process. This aggregation provides a logical structure for dealing with complex relationships.
Lastly, participation constraints ensure that every Student must enroll in at least one Course (total participation), while not all Professors may teach a course (partial participation). These constraints ensure the integrity of data and clarify how entities interact in the real world.
This EERD structure, with its generalization, specialization, and aggregation features, provides a clear representation of a university system’s data model and business rules.