The Effect of MySQL Workbench in Teaching Entity-Relationship Diagram (ERD) to Relational Schema Mapping

Abstract

Abstract-While designing a database at the conceptual level using the Entity-Relationship (ER) model is challenging for novices, mapping an Entity-Relationship Diagram (ERD) to a relational schema is not an easy task, either. One of the problems is students' lack of understanding of the underlying mapping principles. The mental gap between the two models in students also makes it difficult for them to perform the conversion. This paper describes two studies that aimed at helping students fill the gap and improve their ERD-Relational schema mapping performance by the use of a visualization tool, MySQL Workbench. We investigated the effect of using MySQL Workbench in teaching ERDRelational schema mapping. We identified the pros and cons of using visualization in teaching the topic. Our results show that visualization can increase student interest and engagement, and facilitate students connecting the concepts in the two models. With an instructional delivery method that emphasizes the underlying mapping principles, a visualization tool could help undergraduate students improve their performance on ERD-relational schema mapping and facilitate their understanding of the ER model. Index Terms-Entity-relationship model, relational model, relational schema, entity-relationship diagram, visualization, ERD-relational schema mapping.

ER Model Partitioning: Towards Trustworthy Automated Systems Development

“…Yang and Cao, [25] investigated how MySQL Workbench ̶ a visual tool for data modelling ̶ can be used for helping students improve their performance in the ER model to RDS transformation. They also investigated the effects of using MySQL Workbench, in teaching ER to relational transformation.…”

“…They also investigated the effects of using MySQL Workbench, in teaching ER to relational transformation. The authors found that visualization of the transformation process could increase the students' interest in it and their engagement with it, as well as their ability to transform the ER model's concepts to the RDS [25]. Wu et al [26] investigated several versions of the ER model to understand the right ER diagram convention used to teach ER modelling to undergraduate students.…”

“…Going beyond the visualization of a computer-aided transformation process proposed by Yang and Cao [25], the CASE tool we expect could undertake the entire transformations process and perform it purely automatically without letting a user be intervened at intermediate stages for making adjustments. Even if the traditional ER model is claimed to be more suitable for teaching ER modeling concepts [26], in our view, the b(e j ) s 2 (r v (e i ,e j )) s t (r v (e i ,e j )) Fig.…”

Use of Storage Technologies to select Knowledge Management Tools and Strategies for M-SMEs

“…Once the diagram is designed, it is then converted into a relational schema before the actual database is created and implemented. However, although it may sound easy to map an ER diagram, it is not an easy task to perform, it is not as easy for a novice, as it needs to meet some requirements and it involves complex logical thinking [21].…”