Data Modeling for Information Professionals [With Includes a Trial Version of Datamaster...]

When I was faced with creating a data model for an entire system for the first time, I instructed myself from this book for the theory, and from "The Data Modeling Handbook" by Reingruber and Gregory for the implementation details. There are many books on databases, some of them huge, which cover the same old rules about the five normal forms, etc. What absorbed my interest in this book is that it described how to model a relational database using concepts which, to me, seemed somewhat object-oriented. This reasonably-sized book was a very readable, informative exposition of the practical theory to have in mind when conceptualizing a database. The database built with the advice from this book is still going strong today...it's robust, flexible and expandable. Some credit for that goes to the lessons learned from this book.

I am a professor here at Utah State University and I have been teaching the undergraduate database course at various places for +9 years as well as researching accounting and databases for 7 years. I quickly grew tired of standard database textbooks as they are either simply a glossary of terms or a series of mathematical proofs with little real-world value. Almost all college textbooks teach modeling elements but do not teach real world issues related to data modeling. This book really hits the critical data modeling issues. This book combined with a good SQL book is a much better choice for students that desire to become database professionals. A more advanced data modeling book would be the David Hay book. These are THE two best books on data modeling bar none!!!

I found this book to be a refreshing approach to teaching data modeling. With the current confusion between "object models" and "data models", Bob does a good jobe of presenting the concepts fundamental to both. His sequence is unusual (discussing occurrences before classes), but I think this is useful. I definitely recommend it to anyone trying to learn the field.

Last year I saw several presentations of Bob in Dresden. Even though the majority of the audience were data modeling professionals Bob captured the audience up to the last minute. Attendees still talk about this event today because it has been so different from other theoretical and dry presentations. And this is true for his book too. Bobs style to present data modeling is easy to understand, good for many smiles in between, entertaining but still precise. Predicates is his favorite item and finding them is the most important and difficult part in data modeling. He uses lots and lots of simple examples taken from real life to identify items being predicates and those not being predicates. Just the discusson on predicates is worth reading the book but there is much more... Anybody, technical or non technical, being involved in a database project saves a lot of time and money by reading this book and gets a good understanding of what data modeling is about.

This is by far the best book on data modeling on the market today. I explains the usually incomprehesible and dry entity - relationship subject in a way that is understandable for managers, programmers, and database modelers.I make all my employees that have to use any kind of database read this book.This is a must have for anyone in Information Business.