An Introduction to Database Systems [Hardcover]

C. J. Date (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0201385902 | ISBN-13: 978-0201385908 | Publication Date: January 2000 | Edition: 7 Sub

The Seventh Edition continues to focus on the hallmark feature of its previous editions: providing a solid grounding in the foundations of database technology and shedding some light on how the field is likely to develop in the future. This comprehensive introduction to databases has been thoroughly revised to reflect the latest developments and advances in the field of database systems. Emphasizing insight and understanding rather than formalism, Chris Date has divided the book into six parts: Basic Concepts, The Relational Model, Database Design, Transaction Management, Further Topics, and Object and Object/Relational Databases. Throughout the book, there are numerous worked examples and exercises for the reader--with selected answers--as well as an extensive set of annotated references. The release of this new edition of An Introduction to Database Systems coincides with the 25th Anniversary of its initial publication.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The newest edition of the classic An Introduction to Database Systems incorporates the latest developments in relational databases, including semantic modeling, decision support, and temporal modeling. There's better information on distributed databases, security, and the mathematics of relational databases too. With the same strong coverage of fundamental theory that made its predecessors stand out, this book ranks as the definitive textbook for those studying database systems.

This is an extraordinarily academic book. In his preface, C.J. Date goes so far as to lament having to use Structured Query Language (SQL) in some of his examples because it's "so far from being a true embodiment of relational principles." What's more, he writes in a very academic style, peppering his heavily footnoted prose with mathematical expressions and words like relevar and tuple. The academic style and highbrow language isn't a bad thing, since this book deals with complicated, largely abstract phenomena in depth.

Be aware that An Introduction to Database Systems is a far cry from the highly graphical, problem-focused books that target the community of commercial database developers, and as such requires more careful study. This book is about theories, concepts, and ideals rather than problems, solutions, and specific implementations. Per se, it will enable you to become a better database programmer--but only if you supplement it with practical guides and hands-on experience. --David Wall

Review

"Chris Date is the computer industry's most respected expert and thinker on database technology, and his book An Introduction to Database Systems continues to be the definitive work for those wanting a comprehensive and current guide to database systems." -- Colin J. White, Founder, DataBase Associates International, Inc. "...both an indispensable read and an indispensable reference. No serious information systems or database practitioner should be without this book." -- Declan Brady, MBCS, Systems Architect and Database Specialist, ICL "[The book's] greatest appeal is its comprehensiveness and the fact that it is very up-to-date with research developments. The latter factor is due mainly to [Date's] involvement with these developments, which gives him a unique opportunity to write about them." -- David Livingstone, University of Northumbria at Newcastle "A truly comprehensive, state-of-the-art coverage of the Relational Model, written in the clear and precise style that characterizes Date." -- Sudha Ram, University of Arizona "The author's deep insights into the area, informal treatment of profound topics, open-ended discussions of critical issues, comprehensive and up-to-date contents, as well as rich annotations on bibliography have made the book most popular in the database area for more than two decades. -- Qiang Zhu, The University of Michigan-Dearborn "C. J. Date's book presents, SQL facilities more clearly and in greater detail than other books. Readers can learn both theorems and acquire knowledge for practical work from this book." -- Huizhu Lu, Oklahoma State University "One thing which I have always found good about Date's text is the set of references at the end of each chapter. These references reflect both historical and recent research and provide a good source of information for the interested reader." -- Tim Hartley, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at Hartford

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 938 pages
• Publisher: Addison Wesley Longman; 7 Sub edition (January 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201385902
• ISBN-13: 978-0201385908
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.7 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #566,740 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars No longer recommended as an introductory text., January 28, 2002

By 

DTC# "ROP" (ROP) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Introduction to Database Systems (Hardcover)

I read an earlier edition of the book back in the mid 90s. At the time, that was the first serious book on relational database theory I read. I thought the earlier edition was a great introduction to the topic. It was a tough "college textbook" read, but well worth it.

I would no longer recommend the latest version as an introductory text. One gripe is Date's introduction of his own language "Tutorial-D" to explain and illustrate concepts. There is no one place in the book you can go to for a comprehensive description of Tutorial-D. Instead, snippets of it are peppered throughout the text. Another gripe: he can be long-winded and pedantic, and he uses phrases like "mutatis mutandi." I understand he is a man with a mission to be exacting and precise. But somehow, he seems to have overdone it in this edition.

The latest edition has many new chapters on object-relational, temporal databases, logic databases, and decision support systems. These are very convenient overviews, as always, filtered through Date's unerring and zealous devotion to the underlying relational theory.

I think if you already understand relational theory and you are a practitioner in the field, this is still a comprehensive "must have book." But if you are starting out, you will want a kinder-and-gentler introduction. The "love-it-or-hate-it" reviews seems to support this viewpoint.

I rated it 4 stars because (1) it is a classic (2) it is comprehensive (3) it is a reference work that any serious practitioner will want and (4) it has extensive and well-annotated references at the end of each chapter.

I withheld the 5th star for the gripes I mentioned above.

62 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, if textually dense ACADEMIC textbook, November 12, 1999

By 

David Gillies (San Jose, Costa Rica) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Introduction to Database Systems (Hardcover)

(Note this review applies to the sixth edition of this book).

If you wish to quickly jump into database design without a full and rigorous knowledge of database theory (by no means a bad thing) then this book is not for you. If, however, you want a thorough grounding in the principles and practice of database theory considered from an academic standpoint, then this book is highly recommended.

Date is one of the giant figures of relational database theory, and this masterful work covers, in exhaustive detail, all the elementary principles of the subject. The book commences with an overview of database systems and management, before moving on to introduce the relational model. Part II of the book covers in great detail the relational model, introducing the relational algebra and the relational calculus (and then showing the formal equivalence of the two). The SQL language is introduced.

Part III discusses database design, with special emphasis on the vital topics of nonloss decomposition, functional dependencies and normalisation. For practical database designers this is perhaps the most valuable part of the book. Part IV covers data protection from the standpoints of integrity and implementation in practical systems.

Part V gathers a miscellany of related topics such as optimization of queries, a discussion of the 'NULL' problem and an introduction to ditributed (i.e. client/server) database systems. Part VI is an introduction to object-oriented database systems, with an examination of the problems faced by traditional relational systems when faced with object-oriented problems.

It is important to note the target audience for this book. This book is first and foremost academic by nature. Rigour is not sacrificed for conciseness or simplicity. It is textually dense, especially parts II and III (far and away the most important parts). The reader will have to put in a lot of work to fully grasp the details of the concepts. For example, Date's definition of third normal form (3NF): "A relation is in 3NF if and only if it is in 2NF and every nonkey attribute is nontransitively dependent on the primary key". To appreciate in detail the significance of this definition requires substantial effort. However, this effort will pay dividends when the time comes to actually design a real-world system. Failure to understand the principles of database theory at this level of rigour lies behind many failed implementation attempts. Not every database designer needs this knowledge, but a manager of a large database project certainly does. I would not recommend this book as an introductory text for an undergraduate course in database design, due to the large quantity of material covered and its highly theoretical exposition. I would, however, strongly recommend it for students at a higher level, professional database designers and implementors of database management systems.

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An indispensible text for serious practioners, November 23, 2003

By 

Willie the Shake "synthus" (Mountain Lakes, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Introduction to Database Systems (8th Edition) (Paperback)

This is not a how-to, it is a how-to-understand. I own multiple editions of this book starting with the 3rd, when many of the examples referred to RBase. It won't tell you, with simple color diagrams and cut-and-paste examples, how to optimize your Oracle SQL queries or tune your DB/2 engine, but it will teach you the underlying principles of relational databases, from which the serious professional will be able to extrapolate. If you have the intelligence and stomach for it and you actually read it, it will serve you much better than the SQL in 24 hours picture books that some reviewers seem to be looking for -- it is a timeless and effective conceptual work on the subject that spans the evolution of commercial product implementations. Dilitantes and desperadoes, head for the Dummies aisle -- this one's not for you.