Needing A Database Design Book

Question

I am designing a database and it has so many relationships among my tables and i need a book that teaches database design very well.I am looking for a book where table relationships simple and complex has been covered extensively and maybe case studies in the book.

Answer 1

Both of these guys authored several books, but I'm going to link to their blogs in case you want something more immediate.

Louis Davidson: http://drsql.org
Paul Nielsen: http://www.sqlserverbible.com/

Answer 2

SQL Antipatterns is worth a read for some hints on what you shouldn't do and why not (and under what circumstances those rules can be legitimately ignored).

Answer 3

Database in Depth: Relational Theory for Practitioners, by C.J. Date provides a great, short and highly informative introduction to database design.

Answer 4

Another good one:

SQL and Relational Theory: How to Accurate SQL Code - C. J. Date (2009)

Preview available on Google Books.

Answer 5

Before you dive into the literature, you may find this paper useful:

All for One, One for All by C. J. Date

[This paper's] aim is to pin down the exact nature of oneto-one, many-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many relationships. In particular, it tries to come up with precise definitions for these concepts [because] a survey of the literature certainly betrays confusion and lack of systematic thinking in this area