The Proceedings of the Information Systems Education Conference 2006: §2125 Home Papers/Indices prev (§2124) Next (§2132)

Fri, Nov 3, 9:30 - 9:55, Bordeaux Paper (refereed)

Recommended Citation: McMaster, K, N Anderson, and A Blake. Teaching Relational Algebra and Relational Calculus: A Programming Approach. In The Proceedings of the Information Systems Education Conference 2006, v 23 (Dallas): §2125. ISSN: 1542-7382. (A later version appears in Information Systems Education Journal 6(9). ISSN: 1545-679X.)

Teaching Relational Algebra and Relational Calculus: A Programming Approach

Refereed

8 pages

Kirby McMaster    [a1] [a2]
Computer Science
Weber State University    [u1] [u2]
Ogden, Utah, USA    [c1] [c2]

Nicole Anderson    [a1] [a2]
Computer Science
Winona State University    [u1] [u2]
Winona, Minnesota, USA    [c1] [c2]

Ashley Blake    [a1] [a2]
unaffiliated    [u1] [u2]
Seabrook, Texas, USA    [c1] [c2]

This paper describes how relational algebra and relational calculus can be taught using a programming approach. This is in contrast to the mathematical presentation of these topics in most database textbooks. For relational algebra, a function library implemented with Visual FoxPro allows queries to be written as a sequence of function calls--one call per relational algebra operation. For relational calculus, Prolog can be used to write non-procedural programs for queries. In each programming environment, database students experience the power and versatility of these query languages by watching their programs run. In doing so, they gain a greater understanding of the relational model and SQL.

Keywords: query language, relational algebra, relational calculus, predicate

Read this refereed paper in Adobe Portable Document (PDF) format. (8 pages, 561 K bytes)
Preview this refereed paper in Plain Text (TXT) format. (24 K bytes)
View the PowerPoint Slides (PPT) for this presentation. (515 K bytes)

CDpic
Comments and corrections to
webmaster@isedj.org