The first edition of this site was the outgrowth of a previous book project, Practical Relational Database Design, by Wayne Dick and Tom Jewett. The move online featured condensed discussions, an integrated view of database concepts and skills, and use of the Unified Modeling Language in the design process. I’m grateful for the positive response that the site has received so far, both from my own students and from online readers worldwide.

The second edition is largely motivated by the very helpful comments of Prof. Alvaro Monge, as well as by my own observations in two semesters of using its predecessor in class. Major changes include the clear separation of UML from its implementation in the relational model, the introduction of relational algebra terminology as an aid to understanding SQL, and an increased emphasis on natural-language understanding of the design.

Nice intro.