Table design screen Field name Data type Field size Other properties

Datasheet View

Relationships screen Tables One-to-Many relationships

Elements of a database application Tables - for storing data Forms - screen layouts for entering and viewing data Queries - for asking questions about the data Reports - for printed output

To consider in table design Does the field identify items (eg customer name) or inform people about them? (eg age) or do both? (eg address) Which item is the unique identifier - the key? (cust no) What data type is appropriate for the field? (cust no = num, cust name = alp) What additional properties should the field have? (cust no: size = 3, required = yes) In creating fields:

Are these fields identifiers or informational? Electricity/gas company customer number. ID Bank account number. ID Book title in library catalogue. ID/INF Class mark of book in library. ID/INF Date your overdue book or bill is due. INF Current level of funds in your account. INF Module name: e.g. Information Systems Development and Practice 1. ID/INF Module number: e.g. UQI114S1. ID/INF

Key fields Key fields uniquely identify each record in the table If no one field is a unique identifier then either: - create a new identifier (eg cust no) or -make a key from two or more fields (eg first name + second name)