Understanding databases : concepts and practice The goal of this book is to provide an introduction to databases to a diverse audience incorporating fundamental concepts and essential practice. The succinct presentation of the underlying formalism forms a strong foundation for its application to solving problems. Visual components are integrated throughout the text including the use of a visual relational schema linking primary and foreign keys to highlight referential integrity. Summary figures and tables provide an overview of essential information. Practice is an integral component of the text with a variety of solved realworld problems at the end of each chapter. Formative self assessment is also incorporated through self check questions at the end of each section Introduction to Databases and the Relational Data Model Conceptual Design Relational Algebra Relational Calculus SQL: An Introduction to Querying SQL: Beyond the Query Language Database Programming XML and Databases Transaction Management More on Database Design.