Database design basics

Database design is the first step in building any database-driven website. This section presents a case study to explain basic database design principles. The case study involves a web application commissioned by a fictional company called Arrow Aircraft Services, a firm that manages a small fleet of privately owned business jets.

Database design consists of a series of common steps. First, study the business rules and policies to be reflected in the web application. Second, consider the questions users will ask the database. Third, define the structure of the database. Finally, create the database.

This section contains the following topics:

• Studying Arrow Aircraft’s business rules and policies
• Studying Arrow Aircraft’s feature request
• What questions will users ask the database?
• Choosing the tables that belong in the database
• Choosing the columns in each table
• Defining relationships between the tables
• Creating the database