On equivalence of relational and network database models (Q1058312)

The author continues to study the problem discussed by \textit{Y. E. Lien} [J. Assoc. Comput. Mach. 29, 333-362 (1982; Zbl 0485.68088)]. In the network models, a database schema is represented by a connected digraph called a Bachman diagram. A Bachman diagram B is loop-free if this graph is a tree. A loop-free network database (LFND) cosists of B and a network database for B. Lien established an equivalence between LFNDs and a subclass of relational databases. The subclass contains databases with a conflict- and contention-free relation structure. The databases consist of a single relation R defined on a universal set U of attributes. The author presents an extension of the result and enlarges the class of relational structures H which are equivalent to LFBDs. The extension exploits the presence of functional dependencies in H and a condition on null values occurring in any tuple of R(U) corresponding to H. The discussion in this paper is not self-contained. The concepts of cc-free relational structure introduced by Lien is not explicitly defined here.