SIM3304

SOFTWARE DESIGN
Data Management Design
 Objectives
The different ways of storing persistent objects
The differences between object and relational databases
How to design data management objects
 Persistence
Some objects are transient, exist in memory and are
discarded when an application terminates
Some objects must exist from one execution of an
application to another or be shared among different
instances of applications. Such objects are persistent
objects (persistent data)
Storage of Persistent Data or Objects
Persistent data or objects may be stored in
files
for storing data which is transferred to or from other systems
configuration information
database management systems (DBMS)
relational DBMS hold tables of data
object DBMS hold objects and links
the choice of DBMS will have an impact on the amount of work required
of the system designers
 Persistence Design Questions
Can files be used for some storage?
Is it truly an O-O system or just an interface to a relational
database using Java or C++?
Will the system use an existing DBMS?
Will it use a relational DBMS?
Will it use an object DBMS?
 Persistence Design Questions
What is the logical layering of the system?
What is the physical layering of the system?
Is the system distributed? Does this include distributed
data storage?
What protocols will be used to communicate within the
system?
 File Systems
Files and record structures
Fixed length (padded)
Variable length (delimited)
Header and detail
Tagged data (XML)

<author>
<forename>Simon</forename>
<surname>Bennett</surname>
</author>
 File Systems
File organization
Serialnew records appended
Sequentialrecords ordered in file, usually according to a
numeric key
Randomuses an algorithm to convert a key to an
address in the file
 File Systems
File access methods
Serialto read serial and sequential files
Index-sequentialusing indexes to find records
in a sequential file and improve access time
Directusing relative or hashed addressing to
move directly to the required record in the file
Searching for Hamer using index-sequential file access
Direct Access
 Database Management
Systems (DBMS)
Problems with files:
redundancynumber of files grows with applications,
and data is duplicated
inconsistencydata is updated in one applications
files, but not in anothers
maintenance problemschanges to data structures
mean changes to many programs
difficulty combining databusiness needs may mean
users want data from different applications
 DBMS Schema
Ultimately data in databases is stored in files, but their
structure is hidden from developers

External Schema The view on data used by

application programs.

Conceptual Schema The logical model of data that is

separate from how it is used.

Internal Schema The physical storage of data in

files and indexes.
 DBMS Features(1)
Data definition Language (DDL)
used to specify the data held in a DBMS and the
structures that are used to hold it
Data manipulation language (DML)
used to specify updates and retrievals of data
Integrity constraints
Transaction management
if any of the component updates in a transaction do not
succeed, the transaction is rolled back
 DBMS Features (2)
Concurrency
many users may use the database simultaneously
Security
access to the database can be controlled
Tuning of storage
tools can be used to monitor the way that data is
accessed and to improve the structures to make access
more efficient
 Advantages of DBMS
Eliminate unnecessary duplication of data
Enforce data integrity through constraints
Changes to conceptual schema need not affect
external schema
Changes to internal schema need not affect the
conceptual schema
Many tools are available to manage the database
 Disadvantages of DBMS
Cost of investing in the DBMS
Running cost, including staff (Database Administrators) to
manage the DBMS
Processing overhead in converting data to format required
by programs
 Types of DBMS RDBMS (1)
Relational database management systems (RDBMS)
eliminate redundancy (or duplication) from data
represent data in two-dimensional tables (or relations)
consist of rows of data organised in columns
each column contains data values of the same attribute type
the data in each row must be distinct
each attribute value must be atomic
all data structures must be decomposed into two-dimensional
tables
Types of DBMS RDBMS (2)
 Types of DBMS RDBMS (3)
Weaknesses of relational databases
objects in OO systems do not fit easily into this model
objects must be broken down into tables
this incurs a processing overhead
references to other objects must be maintained/restored

RDBMS are widely used

Access, Oracle, SQL Server, Informix, Ingres, MySQL,
DB2
 Types of DBMS
Objectstore objects as objects
designed to handle complex nested objects for graphical and
multimedia applications
Object-relationalhybrid databases that can store data in
tables but can also store objects in tables

ic1:InternationalCampaign
campaignCode =SMGL
campaignTitle = Soong Motors
Helion Launch
locationCount = 3
locationsList:LocationList
locationsList[0]:Location
locationCode= HK
locationName = Hong Kong
locationMgr = Vincent Sieuw
locationMgrTel = ext. 456
locationsList[1]:Location
locationCode = NY
locationName = New York
locationMgr = Martina Duarte
locationMgrTel = ext. 312
locationsList[2]:Location
locationCode = TO
locationName = Toronto
locationMgr = Pierre Dubois
locationMgrTel = ext. 37
Complex Objects
ic2:InternationalCampaign
campaignCode =YPSC
campaignTitle = Yellow Partridge
Summer Collection
locationCount = 2
locationsList:LocationList
locationsList[0]:Location
locationCode = HK
locationName = Hong Kong
locationMgr = Jenny Lee
locationMgrTel = ext. 413
locationsList[1]:Location
locationCode = NY
locationName = New York
locationMgr = Martina Duarte
locationMgrTel = ext. 312
 Designing for Relational Database
Management Systems
If an RDBMS is used to provide storage for an OO
system, it is necessary to flatten the classes into tables
complex objects must be taken apart and the parts stored in
different tables
when the system requires an object, the data must be retrieved
from the tables which hold parts of that object so that it can be
reconstructed
Two approaches can be used to convert classes to tables
normalisation
a series of rules of thumb
 Normalisation
Normalisation is based on the idea of functional
dependency
for two attributes A and B, A is functionally dependent
on B if for every value of B there is exactly one value of
A associated with it at any given time: B A
There are five normal forms of normalised data
the data is free of redundancy in fifth normal form
for practical purposes it is usually adequate to
normalise data into third normal
 Normalisation
Data from complex structures is flattened into tables
Typically normalization is carried out as far as Third
Normal Form
In an object-oriented system, we may use normalization
to convert classes to table schemas
 Normalization Example
ic1:InternationalCampaign
campaignCode =SMGL
campaignTitle = Soong Motors
Helion Launch
locationCount = 3
locationsList:LocationList
locationsList[0]:Location
locationCode= HK
locationName = Hong Kong
locationMgr = Vincent Sieuw
locationMgrTel = ext. 456
locationsList[1]:Location
locationCode = NY
locationName = New York
locationMgr = Martina Duarte
locationMgrTel = ext. 312
locationsList[2]:Location
locationCode = TO
locationName = Toronto
locationMgr = Pierre Dubois
locationMgrTel = ext. 37
ic2:InternationalCampaign
campaignCode =YPSC
campaignTitle = Yellow Partridge
Summer Collection
locationCount = 2
locationsList:LocationList
locationsList[0]:Location
locationCode = HK
locationName = Hong Kong
locationMgr = Jenny Lee
locationMgrTel = ext. 413
locationsList[1]:Location
locationCode = NY
locationName = New York
locationMgr = Martina Duarte
locationMgrTel = ext. 312
 Objects as a Table

To get to First Normal Form, break out the repeating groups

Convert to first normal form (1NF)
a table is in first normal form (1NF) if and only if all row/column
intersections contain atomic values
Multiple values are known as repeating groups
1NF Table for InternationalCampaign Objects
 Second Normal Form (2NF)
A candidate primary key in the previous table may
be formed from the attributes campaignCode and
locationCode
Convert the data in the previous table into second
normal form (2NF)
a table/relation is in 2NF if and only if it is in 1NF and every nonkey
attribute is fully dependent on the primary key
part-key dependencies
campaignTitle is dependent on campaignCode
locationName is dependent on locationCode
2NF Table for InternationalCampaign
Objects
 Third Normal Form (3NF)
A relation is in third normal form (3NF) if and only if it is in
2NF and every attribute is dependent on the primary key
and not on any other non-key attribute
in InternationalCampaign-2, locationMgrTel is
dependent on locationMgr and not on the
primary key (campaignCode and
locationCode)
3NF Table for InternationalCampaign
Objects
Entity-Relationship Diagram
Class Diagram for InternationalCampaign
 Rules for
Mapping Classes to Tables (1)
The second approach involves using a series of rules of thumb to
map classes and their relationships to tables in a RDBMS

Mapping entity classes

classes with a simple data structure become tables and their object
identifiers become primary keys
Mapping associations
one-to-one or one-to-many associations are implemented by inserting a
foreign key in one table to match the primary key of the other table
many-to-many associations are implemented using two separate tables for
each object, as well as an intersection table
each row in the intersection table contains a pair of object identifiers, one from
each object involved in the association
Mapping Entity Classes to Relational
Tables
Mapping Associations (1)
Mapping Associations (2)
 Rules for Mapping Classes to Tables (2)
Mapping aggregations
one-to-one composition
combine the subset and superset entity classes in a single table
one-to-one aggregation and one-to-many aggregation
(and composition)
create two separate tables one for the subset class and one for
the superset class
the subset table should contain a foreign key which is equal to the
primary
Mapping Aggregations (1)
Mapping Aggregations (2)
 Rules for Mapping Classes to Tables (3)
There are three ways to map a generalisation hierarchy to
relational database tables
implement all classes as separate tables
to retrieve data for a subclass both its own table and its
superclass table must be accessed
implement the superclass as a table
attributes of subclasses become attributes of the superclass
table
implement the concrete subclasses as tables
attributes of the superclass are held in the subclass tables
this only works if the superclass is abstract
Mapping Generalisations (1)
Implement all Classes as Separate Tables
Implement the Superclass as a Table
Implement each Concrete Subclass as a
Table
 Object Database Management Systems
(1)
Object DBMS can store complex objects directly
The standard for object databases has been set
by the Object Data Management Group (ODMG)
defines ODL (Object Definition Language) and OML
(Object Manipulation Language)
not all ODBMS conform to the standard
Object DBMS are closely linked to the
programming languages with ways of navigating
through the database
Object Database Management Systems
(2)
Object databases transparently materialise
objects from the database into memory
Only minimal changes to the structure of the
class diagram are required
ODBMS do not support the storage of
operations in the database
except simple operations like inserting
values or simple arithmetic