Did you forget to post the problem definition or what?? :)

I guess you will have to follow these steps:

1. Identify what info you need in the database (fields) and how you will be using them (which of them you will need always together...like book serial # and title,etc.)

2. Form a design of the database that suits your requirements. Identify the keys/constraints you will need.

3. To really optimize it, apply the Normalization rules and Normalize it upto 3NF ( or really 2NF if you don't care much)

4. Build the DB using SQL and use a DBMS to manage it.

5. Optionally, build a front-end application to interact with the DB.


Now tell me, where are you stuck ??

Manish,

Thanks for the reply, but you are going way over my head! It is really the conceptual design and verification that I am lost in. I know SQL and can create the tables, etc... It's just the E-R diagrams and relationship issues that I don't understand. This is what I need to do:

conceptual design:
1. A high-level entity relationship diagram identifying the entities and relationships. Include as much narrative as is necessary to explain the document.

2. Precise entity and relationship definitions.

3. Precise definition of all business rules. This can be in narrative form, though applying them to the appropriate subset of the E-R diagram can be very helpful to understanding the business process.

4. Precise definition of all attributes you can identify. Do not put these in an extended E-R diagram, Rather, repeat the high level definition of each entity and identify every attribute associated with it. Then, to the degree you can at this point in the process, identify the domain constraints.

Verification:
1. Identifying the central entity

2. Identifying each module and its components

3. Identifying each module transaction requirements

Thanks Again!
:) Joann