• When designing database tables, the difference between a good design and a bad design can be a few seconds in response time and several minutes. You may think that this is not a huge difference, but imagine waiting several minutes on a web page for your results to load. How long would you wait? A slow database can mean the loss of customers. So let's begin by discussing some of the common elements of tables and how you would approach the table design. What would you do to ensure that your page loads in a few seconds? Discuss the relationship types and how they affect your design.
• What role does the entity-relationship (ER) diagram play in the design process? Discuss the different types of information represented in the ER diagram and the symbols used to represent them. How would you approach the diagramming process?
An Entity-relationship (ER) diagram is basically a flowchart that describes the relationship between different items. An ER diagram is a means of visualizing how the information a system produces is related. There are five main components of an ERD:
• Entities, which are represented by rectangles. An entity is an object or concept about
