The Database Relational Model

The relational data model was first introduced by Ted Codd of IBM Research in 1970 in a classic paper (Codd, 1970), and it attracted immediate attention due to its simplicity and mathematical foundation. The model uses the concept of a mathematical relation—which looks somewhat like a table of values—as its basic building block, and has its theoretical basis in set theory and first-order predicate logic. In this chapter we discuss the basic characteristics of the model and its constraints. Lecture text