Sound design can save you hours of development time before you write a single line of code. Based on the author's years of experience teaching this material, Database Design for Mere Mortals is a straightforward, platform-independent tutorial on the basic principles of relational database design. Database design expert Michael J. Hernandez introduces the core concepts of design theory and method without the technical jargon. With it's hands-on approach and a wealth of practical examples, Database Design for Mere Mortals will provide any developer with a common-sense design methodology for developing databases that work.

Relational databases are powerful tools for organizing data, but learning to use them effectively can be painful. Relational Database Design for Mere Mortals explains the concepts of relational-database design in an easy-to-digest fashion that covers both the theoretical underpinnings and their practical implications. Hernandez covers all the basics--table and field structure, keys, relationships, business rules, and more--but always keeps his feet on the ground with advice for real-world implementations and a particularly strong section on analyzing your current database infrastructure.