DIGITALBIG DATA TECHNOLOGY - CAN WE ABANDON THE TEACHING OF NORMALISATION?
1 University of Hertsfordshire (UNITED KINGDOM)
2 University of Sunderland (UNITED KINGDOM)
2 University of Sunderland (UNITED KINGDOM)
About this paper:
Appears in: EDULEARN17 Proceedings
Publication year: 2017
Pages: 510-517
ISBN: 978-84-697-3777-4
ISSN: 2340-1117
doi: 10.21125/edulearn.2017.1113
Publication year: 2017
Pages: 510-517
ISBN: 978-84-697-3777-4
ISSN: 2340-1117
doi: 10.21125/edulearn.2017.1113
Conference name: 9th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies
Dates: 3-5 July, 2017
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Dates: 3-5 July, 2017
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Abstract:
Relational databases have been the mainstay of traditional data processing since the mid 1980s. Schools in the United Kingdom (UK) teach relational databases using the Microsoft Access database and the topic is assessed by the main examining bodies. In many Universities in the UK the undergraduate practical teaching of Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS) is carried out using the Oracle Database Management System (DBMS). Modelling for Relational Databases has a well-established process. Databases using the relational model of data traditionally use normalisation to decide on a suitable set of data structures to implement in the target relational database.Relational databases have been successful partly due to their user-friendly query language – Structured Query Language (SQL), and because they had other advantages over the other large databases which were prevalent at the time. Today we can give students an SQL workbook in a laboratory session and they can learn and achieve much in an hour with no 3GL programming skills necessary, a big advantage over non-relational systems.
In recent years we have seen the advent of Big Data, NoSQL databases and so called “schemaless” (or unstructured) databases. Schemaless gives the impression that the conceptual and logical design levels are not necessary and NoSQL (which is actually an abbreviation for Not Only SQL) gives the impression that the SQL query language is redundant.
In this paper we will compare the data structures of a traditional relational database with a document based schemaless database (MongoDB) at the logical and physical database design stage. We will use the traditional concepts of the data definition language, data manipulation language and data control language of both types of database. We also compare the query languages and the purposes of both types of databases. We will answer the question in the title of the paper “Big Data Technology – can we abandon the teaching of Normalisation?”, in order to consider how we can ensure that these new technologies are as effectively embedded into the curriculum for university teaching and learning as they have been for relational databases.