Introduction
The emergence of Big Data changed the ways people work with information, process it, and employ it for various purposes. Relational databases are used today as one of the best options for storing and processing rich transactional data, its representation, and structuring. At the same time, the set remains one of the fundamental elements of relational technology popular today. Under these conditions, there are concepts of relational databases and set theory that might be interrelated, while there are also some differences between them. The correct understanding of these peculiarities is a key to an improved vision of these two vital notions and how they function.
Set Theory
The Set Theory presents a primary concept in the field of mathematics. In addition, Set Theory forms the foundation for other topics. It is applied to show statistics and used in probability. In general, it may be explained as a range of objects, which are titled elements (“Set theory,” n.d.). Any item, for instance, numbers, people, buildings, and others, may become elements. As for the utilization of sets, they can be equal, and their order is not essential, as they include the same points (“Set theory,” n.d.). Moreover, there are two sets, which should be highlighted. The first one is titled universal and implies a set of elements, which can be chosen (“Set theory,” n.d.). The set may also differ from the previous one, and this type involves both real and whole numbers. The second type is an empty one, which means that there are no elements in it.
Subsets are titled in accordance with their content, for instance, a set of A elements has the name A. In case all the elements of A are also elements of B, A is called a subset of B. Concerning the topic of operations, there are numerous options, and the major three are union, intersection, and complement (Set theory, n. d.). The relationships of elements in set theory can be described in the following way. In case of sets A and B do not have common elements, they are in relationships of nonintersection. In case A and B have common elements, which refer to A and B at the same time, they are in relationships of the intersection. Whether there is an element, which refers only to A, an element, which refers only to B, and an element, which refers both to A and B, they are in a common intersection. Two sets are in the relation to inclusion, in case all the elements of the first set are also the elements of the second one. Moreover, two sets are in an equal relation, if each element of A is also an element of B, and each element of B is also an element of A.
Relational Databases
Relational Databases present a kind of database applied for storing information and accessing its points, which are connected with each other. A relational model is fundamental for relational databases, which imply adherence to table forms for presenting data (“What is a relational database,” n.d.). Key is a special record ID in a line of a table (“What is a relational database,” n.d.).
Three types of relations in relational databases exist, and they are one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many. The first one is applied relatively rarely, and it implies that the data stored on one table could also be stored in the second table. According to Ian (2016), “A one-to-one relationship can be used for security purposes, to divide a large table, and various other specific purposes” (para. 5). On the contrary, one-to-many is more widespread than the previously mentioned type of relations.
Comparison
In such a way, relational databases can be viewed through the prism of set theory. They are a specific generalization of the set theory relations (Harrington, 2016). For this reason, there is a direct correlation between some elements belonging to both these fields, such as data, numbers, and information. However, these relations are not always direct due to the differences between these entities. For instance, the set theory uses the term relation while relational databases operate with tables; tuple is employed in the first case, and row in the second; attribute and column correspondingly (Harrington, 2016). These differences come from the fact that set theory and relational databases describe relationships in different ways. However, they remain interrelated and serve to process and store information.
Conclusion
Altogether, sets and relational databases are vital elements of the modern information field. These are used to process huge amounts of data and avoid mistakes in its processing. They describe different types of relations between objects and are employed to simplify the access to demanded facts or data portions. The set theory presupposes relations of inclusion and organization regarding the content, while relational databases might have a one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many types. In general, both these phenomena have interrelated concepts because of the importance of the notion of sets and their applicability to various fields of knowledge, including information storing and processing.
References
Harrington, J. (2016). Relational database design and implementation: Clearly explained (4th ed.). Morgan Kaufmann.
Ian (2016). The 3 types of relationships in database design. Web.
Set theory. (n. d.). Web.
What is a relational database? (n.d.). Web.