5  Relational database management systems

5.1 Learning objectives

In this hands-on chapter, you will learn how to connect to a PostgreSQL database hosted in the cloud and implement your database design by creating tables and populating them with data.

5.2 Relational database management systems

As we saw in the first chapter of this book, Database Management Systems (DBMS) are software that supports the development, maintenance, security, and use of databases. Because you are designing a relational database in this course, you will be using a relational database management system (RDBMS). PostgreSQL is an increasingly popular RDBMS that can also handle non-relational data structures. It does not have an interface; it is the engine that stores your data and enforces rules regarding the content of your fields and tables, who can access them, etc.

5.3 Accessing your database with DBeaver

DBeaver is a SQL client software application and a database administration tool. In this chapter, you will learn to use it to access a real PostgreSQL database hosting on a server in the cloud, implement a live version of the database you designed, and store some data into it.

5.3.1 Downloading and installing DBeaver

You can download and install DBeaver community from the DBeaver website (https://dbeaver.io). Please make sure you download DBeaver community (that’s the free version) from the dbeaver.io website, and not one of the paid versions (e.g. DBeaver Lite) from the dbeaver.com website. Then install DBeaver and keep all the default settings throughout the installation.

5.3.2 DBeaver demo

For now I decided to not write instructions on how to use DBeaver with text and screenshots, but instead to record a live demo. You will find that recording in the content tab on Brightspace. The video walks you through the process of:

  • connecting to the database;

  • finding your schema (your database);

  • creating tables, columns, and relationships between tables (foreign keys);

  • entering data in your tables;

  • visualizing your entity relationship diagram in DBeaver.

5.4 Conclusion

That’s it! Now you know how to implement database designs on a real server and populate your tables with data. In the next week, you will learn the basics of the SQL language and how to write SQL queries to extract data from your database and produce database views that fulfill some needs for some users of the databases.