To visualize relationships between tables, developers draw diagrams. In these
diagrams, boxes represent tables and include a list of all the variables within that table.
Lines connecting boxes show the relationship between tables.
This simplified diagram shows the basic structure of a normalized sales database.
Details about items for sale go in the item table and details about customers go in the
customer table. Information about items ordered belongs in the order content table,
which connects to the order table. The order table holds information unique to that
order, such as the order date, and connects to shipment and payment tables.
Shipment
ShipmentID
OrderID
Carrier
TrackingID
DateShipped
Customer
CustomerID
FirstName
LastName
Birthdate
Street
City
State
Zip
Order
CustomerID
OrderID
DateOrdered
DateFulfilled
ShipToAddress
BillToAddress
OrderContent
OrderID
Item
Number
Quantity
Payment
OrderPaymentID
OrderID
PaymentType
CardNumber
AmountPaid
Item
ItemNumber
ItemName
Price
Managing and Manipulating Data
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