BibliographyBibliography
This following bibliography is maintained for your convenience by the staff of AIS.
While not all of these books deal directly with data modeling per se, those which don't include valuable discussions of issues which impact data model methods and designs.
We make no claim that this list is complete or current. We hope it will be helpful. Any good library or bookstore will have more sources.
While this book is primarily a collection of expert tips and techniques with SQL, Celko provides some valuable insight into the physical and performance consequences of poor data design. After all, if you are modeling data, your efforts will almost certainly be implemented in some SQL database so it is important to know how all that work gets done.
This is Codd's original exposition of the relational theory.
This is Codd's famous 12 principles of relational databases.
Codd, the father of relational systems, updated his famous manifesto for the relational model in 1990. It now demands conformance to 333 principles for any database system to be labeled "relational". While some may find Codd's position rather jealously possessive of relational dogma, there is no denying the clarity and completeness of his exposition. This is a classic reference work which should be in every library, whether public or private, on information systems technologies.
C. J. Date needs no introduction to anyone who reads current journals or attends database conferences. One of the most prolific and profound writers on database issues, Data has updated his classic work in this, its sixth, edition. It is worth the hefty textbook price for the footnotes alone. And having a copy handy is imperative to fully appreciate the frequent dialogs in Database Programming and Design.
Terry Halpin's definitive work on Object Role Modeling is not for the joy of reading but for the joy of discovery. Here is a better, more complete (and mathematically provable) way to model data than our time-tested entity relationship diagrams. ORM is such a completely different paradigm- in notation, vocabulary, concept - from the more familiar ER that it is best to read this book with a clear head and firm commitment to understanding a science which is new to most of us. While Dr. Halpin makes little attempt to map ORM concepts to other methodologies, even readers who will not have the opportunity to use the technologies will gain a more solid understanding of the inherent, immutable structure of data.
This excellent book follows the methods of {Barker90} to examine numerous patterns in conceptual data structures which occur frequently throughout business, industry, and government. The included examples will solve many modeling problems for every organization and skip over the "reinvent the wheel" stage of many projects.
Unlike many product specific references, this one is well written and readable, even enjoyable. I rate it tops on the Oracle bookshelf.
Fifteen years ago James Martin was a god; ten years ago he was essential. Today I find his works overworked and cluttered, out of touch with more streamlined techniques which are found in most modern systems environments. Nonetheless, a generation or two of systems professionals were trained under Martin's endpaper matrix of works on every subject in IT. So it behooves one to read and be familiar, even if one's peers and workplace do not demand it.
This is the only genuinely readable work in my library on the often dry subject of data modeling. Simsion has ample profession credentials to write with a mouth full of marbles yet he manages to avoid that trap while illuminating murky material. His theory is complete and well woven together, with ample cross referencing amongst the various flavors of ER modeling. His sample diagrams are clear and demonstrate their points effectively. He is thorough without tiring. This is a must-own.
If your local bookstore carries only one work on data modeling, this is most likely it. That's a pity because it is dense, dry, confusing, and unentertaining. The diagrams make a good case for why only the mighty Merlins of modeling can handle this stuff. However, Teorey discusses thoroughly the classic form of Chen type ER and also provides rather complete references to the literature. This is a good volume to keep handy to impress others and ward off competition.
