First, take a look at the Stanford social database.
Database relations
It is possible for databases to contain constraints. Download the database SocialRelations.accdb and look at the relations between its tables. (It’s under DATABASE TOOLS.) Try to add a new Friend relation that doesn’t use a proper ID. This should not be allowed.
Complex database queries
Download the database SocialQueries.accdb. There are a lot of complex queries in this database. Look at them in the following order.
- NamedLikes
- NamedLikesLinks
- FriendsinHigherGrade
- MutualLikes
- MutualLikesUnique
Try to make a list of all pairs of friends.
Stuff to do
Let’s try to learn a little bit about databases the way most people do: Using YouTube or Google. Search for “microsoft access data aggregate query” and look at a couple of the results. First, try a query to count the number of students in each grade. Then try to get a count of the number of students with the same name. If that is working, try to get a count of number of friends each student has.
Or, you could just create a database that roughly corresponds to the CSCI 343 early database example or something far more interesting.
Access is not available in the Office 365 suite available free to UNC Asheville students and faculty, so don’t get attached to it.