To become a good data modeler, you need to understand the notation in entity relationship diagrams and get plenty of practice building diagrams. This chapter provides practice with applying the notation. You will learn to analyze a narrative problem, refine a design through transformations, document important design decisions, and analyze a data model for common design errors. After finalizing an ERD, the diagram should be converted to relational tables so that it can be implemented with a commercial DBMS. This chapter presents rules to convert an entity relationship diagram to a table design. You will learn about the basic rules to convert common parts of a diagram along with specialized rules for less common parts of a diagram.
With this background, you are ready to build ERDs for moderate-size business situations. You should have confidence in your knowledge of the Crow's Foot notation, applying the notation to narrative problems, and converting diagrams to table designs.