If you want to build databases that are robust, flexible, and accurate, you have to come to grips with design theory. But this theory is riddled with difficult terms and concepts that don’t seem to have much to do with design in practice. In this two-day master class, renowned expert C.J. Date bridges the gap by introducing design theory in ways practitioners can understand.

This painless introduction to design theory is for database professionals familiar with the relational model. Prior attendance at the C.J. Date Master Class SQL and Relational Theory: How to Write Accurate SQL Code is highly recommended. Classroom exercises are an integral part of the seminar, and attendee discussion and interaction are encouraged. You’ll receive a workbook containing copies of C.J. Date’s course slides.

Once you complete of this course, you will:

• Understand, and be able to apply, the scientific principles of normalization and orthogonality that underlie design practice
• Know which normal forms are important, how they differ from one another, and how to achieve them
• Understand dependencies and the concepts of dependency inference and dependency preservation
• Generally, understand the contributions (and the limitations) of design theory

Along the way, you’ll review aspects of design you should already be familiar with—although perhaps from unfamiliar perspective—and then explore in depth aspects you’re probably not familiar with. You’ll receive clear and accurate explanations and definitions of all pertinent concepts, without spending a lot of time on well-known material such as 2NF and 3NF.

About the speaker:

C.J. Date has a stature that’s unique in the database industry. Best known for his bestselling textbook, An Introduction to Database Systems (Addison-Wesley), he has been working with relational database theory since 1970. He enjoys a well-deserved reputation for his ability to explain complex technical issues in a clear and understandable fashion.