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An Introduction to Database Systems Subsequent Edition

by C. J. Date (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 34 ratings
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There is a newer edition of this item:

Introduction to Database Systems, An
Introduction to Database Systems, An
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Presents an authoritative resource for readers interested in gaining insight into and understanding of the principles of database systems. Provides solid grounding in the foundations of database technology and provides some ideas as to how the field is likely to develop in the future. New 7th edition. DLC: Database management.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0201385902
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0201385908
  3. Edition
    Subsequent
  4. Publisher
    Addison-Wesley
  5. Publication date
    January 1, 2000
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    10 x 1.5 x 8.25 inches
  8. Print length
    938 pages
  9. See all details
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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

From the Back Cover

authoritative resource for reader's interested in gaining insight into and understanding of the principles of database systems. This exciting revision continues to provide a solid grounding in the foundations of database technology and to provide some ideas as to how the field is likely to develop in the future.

The material is organized into six major parts. Part I provides a broad introduction to the concepts of database systems in general and relational systems in particular. Part II consists of a careful description of the relational model, which is the theoretical foundation for the database field as a whole. Part III discusses the general theory of database design. Part IV is concerned with transaction management. Part V shows how relational concepts are relevant to a variety of further aspects of database technologysecurity, distributed databases, temporal data, decision support, and so on. Finally, Part VI describes the impact of object technology on database systems.

This Seventh Edition of An Introduction to Database Systems features widely rewritten material to improve and amplify treatment of several topics, including:

Revised and expanded material on the relational model, particularly the sections on types (domains), relation values vs. relation variables, integrity, predicates, and views

New material on relation-valued attributes, denormalization, orthogonal design, and alternative approaches to semantic modeling (including "business rules")

Complete new chapters covering type inheritance, decision support, and temporal databases

Two new appendixes, one on detail of SQL and one on SQL3

Readers of this book will gain a strong working knowledge of the overall structure, concepts, and objectives of database systems and will become familiar with the theoretical principles

underlying the construction of such systems.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Addison-Wesley; Subsequent edition (January 1, 2000)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 938 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0201385902
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0201385908
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.69 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 10 x 1.5 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 34 ratings

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C. J. Date

C. J. Date

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
34 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Rene Velasco
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2017
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Excellent!!
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David Gillies
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, if textually dense ACADEMIC textbook
Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 1999
(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.
65 people found this helpful
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p church
5.0 out of 5 stars The 2nd best book on Database
Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2002
This book demands re-reading and bears it well. It has been very satisfying to see the progress of CJ Date's thinking since the third edition. After 25 years or so, I detect that he is coming far closer to the essence of his subject than others have. I imagine he could have put this down on one page but that wouldn't be a book!
The details are great and some are so striking as to seem profound. How many people know that there are relations that have no attributes? Date also apologies for past misconceptions. It is gratifying to know that he now agrees with what some suspected - an relation attribute's value can be another relation, if we want it to be. The book is full of wisdom like that.
Just like the author, I wish the builders of so-called relational systems would pay some attention to this thinking (which he freely admits is not all his own). Then they might spend less time refining ideas which the reader of this book will realize are clearly wrong, like not separating the physical from the logical. If they also read his 'Third Manifesto', co-authored with Hugh Darwen where his personal opinions shine through even more, they might see ways to simplify further as well as apply the ideas in new and useful ways and take databases to a new level.
This book is not for anybody who only wants a 24 hour, or even a 21 day, treatment, although those are OK as far as they go. It is for anybody who is interested in the field, but perhaps not for some who only want a job. But i think this book has to be read to understand why!
I would pay more for an even longer book with more detail on some of the early papers by others such as those about normalization. These papers are now very hard to obtain.
The best book i've read on database (perhaps i should say relations and THEIR foundations) was Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy by Bertrand Russell, written in 1917 no less! It also bears re-reading.
7 people found this helpful
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C. Mellon
2.0 out of 5 stars Not a real-life application book, but good for academics
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2001
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This book is not good for anyone that wants to get into the practical applications of Relational Databases immediately. This book is geared to people interested in learning the theoretical analysis of Relational Databases stemming from mathematical analysis. This approach is highly impractical for real-world applications and will remain as conversation material for academics. This book is frustrating to read since the author constantly makes references to material that is not addressed in this book, illegal use of SQL (utilizing the "#" for illustration purposes) and not indicating clearly how his examples have deviated from the way it is "traditionally done". The author is frustrated and spends too much time berating other people's work, and his attempt to explain SQL is poorly illustrated. This book is mistakenly referred to as the bible of relational databases and the only explanation I can think for this is that it has been around for so long and read by so many people that are endeared by the unreachable tone of his writing, that they assume this is how it should be written. After seven editions I would expect perfection, and this book is a far cry from it. Spend your money and desire to understand the theory behind Relational Databases somewhere else.
10 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Petru T
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book. Heartily recommend.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 13, 2018
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A fantastic book. The author has a gift for teaching.

The book taught me a great deal about databases, the relational model, SQL (and its flaws). The book also taught me about computer science subjects such as security, optimisation, type inheritance (classes, object-oriented inheritance).
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Mark Hughes
4.0 out of 5 stars Haven't read much of it, but I've read bits ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 17, 2016
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Haven't read much of it, but I've read bits of it when I started learning about SQL and it helped quite a bit to make it easier to understand.
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