Table design screen Field name Data type Field size Other properties

Datasheet View

Relationships screen Tables One-to-Many relationships

Elements of a database application Tables - for storing data Forms - screen layouts for entering and viewing data Queries - for asking questions about the data Reports - for printed output

To consider in table design Does the field identify items or inform people about them? (or do both?) Which item is the unique identifier (the key)? What data type is appropriate for the field? What properties should the field have? In creating fields (i.e. categories):

Are these fields identifiers or informational? Electricity/gas company customer number. Bank account number. Book title in library catalogue. Class mark of book in library. Date your overdue book or bill is due. Current level of funds in your account. Module name: e.g. Information Systems Development and Practice 1. Module number: e.g. UQI114S1.

Key fields Key fields uniquely identify each record in the table (record = row; field = column). If no one field is a unique identifier then either: - create a new identifier. - make a key from two or more fields.