← ACARA Digital Technologies Years 9–10

Attributes become fields

An attribute is one property of an entity, like a student's name or year level. Each attribute becomes one field (column) in the entity's table, and each instance of the entity is one record.

Part of: ACARA Digital Technologies Years 9–10 — Entities, Relationships and Queries — Module 8, QCE Digital Solutions Unit 2 — Data-Driven Problems and Solution Requirements — Module 52, QCE Digital Solutions Unit 2 — Data and Programming Techniques — Module 86, QCE Digital Solutions Unit 2 — Prototype Data Solutions — Module 4, QCE Digital Solutions Unit 3 — Interactions Between Users, Data and Digital Systems — Module 95, WA Computer Science ATAR Year 11 — Data Management — Module 23

Understanding Attributes become fields in ACARA Digital Technologies Years 9–10

What it does: Listing separate fields keeps one fact per attribute instead of squashing several facts into one column. The field names in SELECT are the attributes of the entity, and each row returned is one instance of it. email is one property of a student, so it is an attribute. Student is the entity itself. Attributes are the properties every student has, such as firstName. Ava, Liam, Mia and Noah are values stored in records, not attributes. The number of fields matches the number of attributes. The 10 students are the 10 records.

Common mistakes: A name and a year level are two different facts, so they need two fields. Each attribute gets its own field: line 3 should be firstName VARCHAR(30), and yearLevel already has its own line.}},. An attribute is one property, so there should be one fact per attribute. Name and year level are separate attributes. Line 2 should be Attribute: name, and yearLevel has its own line.

Class: _____________________  ·  Name: _____________________  ·  Date: _________

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This module's key terms are also in a printable crossword (Modules 433–451) and word search (Modules 413–451).

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Learning
Duo
A Student entity has the attribute yearLevel. What does it become in the Student table?
A field (column) called yearLevelA new table called yearLevel
Matches
CREATE TABLE students (nameAndYear TEXT, email TEXT);
↓
Two attributes (name and year level) are squashed into one field. Each attribute should have its own field, such as firstName and yearLevel.
Applying
Meanings
Term
attribute
Meaning
An attribute is one property of an entity, like a student's name or year level. Each attribute becomes one field (column) in the entity's table, and each instance of the entity is one record.
Practice
Entity: Student
Testing
Gaps
Student(name, , email)
Check Answer
Spots
2 studentId INT,
3 firstNameYear VARCHAR(40),

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Quick Questions

1. A Student entity has the attribute yearLevel. What does it become in the Student table?
A. A field (column) called yearLevel ✓
B. A new table called yearLevel
Each attribute becomes one field in the entity's table, so yearLevel becomes a column in the Student table.
2. Which is an attribute of a Student entity?
A. email ✓
B. Student
email is one property of a student, so it is an attribute. Student is the entity itself.
3. Which field follows the 'one fact per attribute' rule?
A. firstName and lastName as two separate fields ✓
B. fullNameAndYear as one field
Each attribute should store one fact. Splitting the name keeps the data easy to sort and search, and mixing name and year in one field breaks the rule.
4. Ava Nguyen, Year 7, is stored in the Student table. What is she in database terms?
A. One attribute, stored as one field (column)
B. One instance of the entity, stored as one record (row) ✓
Each instance of an entity is one record. The attributes (name, year level, email) are the fields that describe it.
5. You list attributes for a Student entity. Which list is suitable?
A. Ava, Liam, Mia, Noah
B. studentId, firstName, yearLevel, email ✓
Attributes are the properties every student has, such as firstName. Ava, Liam, Mia and Noah are values stored in records, not attributes.

Match the Pairs

CREATE TABLE students (firstName TEXT, yearLevel INT, email TEXT); → The students entity has three attributes, so the table gets three fields: firstName, yearLevel and email.
INSERT INTO students VALUES ('Ava', 9, 'ava@school.edu'); → One instance of the student entity, stored as one record with a value for each field.
Each attribute holds one fact about the entity, so a student's name, year level and email each get their own field. → firstName, yearLevel, email
To see the attributes (fields) stored for the student entity, you list them in a SELECT from its table. → SELECT firstName, yearLevel, email FROM students;
CREATE TABLE students (nameAndYear TEXT, email TEXT); → Two attributes (name and year level) are squashed into one field. Each attribute should have its own field, such as firstName and yearLevel.
CREATE TABLE students (Ava TEXT, 9 INT, ava@school.edu TEXT); → Field names are values from one record, not attributes. The fields should be named after the properties, such as firstName, yearLevel and email.

Key Term

attribute
An attribute is one property of an entity, like a student's name or year level. Each attribute becomes one field (column) in the entity's table, and each instance of the entity is one record.

Fill in the Blanks

1. Student(name, yearLevel, email)
Hint: Type the attribute that records which school year the student is in.
2. CREATE TABLE students ( email VARCHAR(50) );
Hint: Type the table name for the Student entity.
3. SELECT firstName, yearLevel FROM students;
Hint: Type the field name that holds the student's school year attribute.
4. INSERT INTO students VALUES ('Ava', 7);
Hint: Type the SQL keyword that adds one new record (one instance of the entity).
5. SELECT COUNT(*) FROM students;
Hint: Type the aggregate function name that counts how many records (instances) the table holds.

Spot the Error

Question 1
A CREATE TABLE students (
B studentId INT,
C firstNameYear VARCHAR(40),
D yearLevel INT,
E email VARCHAR(50)
F );
Line C — A name and a year level are two different facts, so they need two fields. Each attribute gets its own field: line 3 should be firstName VARCHAR(30), and yearLevel already has its own line.}},
Question 2
A Entity: Student
B Attribute: name and year level
C Attribute: yearLevel
D Attribute: email
Line B — An attribute is one property, so there should be one fact per attribute. Name and year level are separate attributes. Line 2 should be Attribute: name, and yearLevel has its own line.
Question 3
A INSERT INTO students
B VALUES (1, 'Ava 7');
C SELECT * FROM students;
Line B — One record needs one value for each field. 'Ava 7' squashes the name and the year level into a single field. It should be VALUES (1, 'Ava', 7);
Question 4
A Entity: Student
B Attribute name -> field name
C Attribute email -> record
Line C — Each attribute becomes a field (column) in the table, not a record. A record is one instance of the entity, such as one student. It should be Attribute email -> field email.
Question 5
A CREATE TABLE students (
B studentId INT,
C firstName VARCHAR(30),
D email VARCHAR(50);
E );
Line D — The field list stays open until the closing bracket, so the semicolon cannot go after a field. A semicolon only ends the whole statement after ');'. It should be email VARCHAR(50) with nothing after it.

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