A history of relational modeling
The diagrams and examples throughout this book rely on relational modeling to illustrate database concepts and constructs. Learning how to parse and communicate through relational diagrams provides a dual-faceted benefit to database users by allowing them to rapidly visualize and bring to life complex database landscapes and design them from scratch using visual cognitive aids. Yet, despite these benefits, many database users consider modeling an arcane practice without relevance in the modern warehouse and mistake it for a chore instead of the time-saving boon it really is.
The practice of data modeling and its associated notations have passed through many changes and diverging trends without a final standard ever emerging, encumbering universal adoption. The conceptual data model dates back to the 1960s when Charles Bachman first used rectangles to denote record types and arrows to form relationships between them. Toward the end of the decade,...
