Introduction

Welcome to ERD Fundamentals. In this chapter we will learn about all the key techniques and principles to create our first ERD in PhixFlow, that models the data in our application.

Concepts

To find out more about the key concepts for Entity Relationship Diagrams before you take the course below, or simply to refresh your memory, see Entity Relationship Diagrams.

Video Demonstration

Watch the video demonstration, then complete the Fundamentals Tasks below.

Fundamentals Tasks

Complete the tasks below, before moving to the next chapter.

Task 1: Download Learning Centre Files

Access the Learning Centre using the Help link in the top right corner of PhixFlow or via Learning Centre
Scroll to the bottom of the webpage and in the Sample Datasets section, download the files:
- Companies
- Employees
- ISO Country Codes

Task 2: Create the ERD

Select ERD from the PhixFlow home page
Click Add New
On the Create ERD window that appears, enter the name, Data, and select Create

Task 3: Add Data to the ERD

Add a new blank table from the toolbar by clicking and dragging the Table icon onto the canvas
1. On the Create Table window that appears, enter the name, Status, and select Confirm
Add new tables from excel files by dragging the files you downloaded from the Learning Centre in Task 1 from your PC or laptop onto the canvas
On the Companies table:
1. Set the Primary key by right-clicking on the CompanyID attribute and selecting Make/Unset Primary Key
2. Set the Display Name by right-clicking on the CompanyName attribute and selecting Make Display Name
Repeat these steps on the Employees table:
1. Set the EmployeeID attribute as the Primary key
2. Set the first_name attribute as the Display Name
On the ISOCountryCodes table:
1. Set the CountryCode attribute as the Primary key
2. Set the CountryName attribute as the Display Name

Task 4: Create Relationships Between the Tables

Click on the CompanyID attribute on the Companies table, and while holding down your mouse, a red relationship line will appear
1. Release your mouse-click when it is hovering over the CompanyID attribute on the Employees table
2. A line will appear to represent the relationship created
Repeat these steps to create a relationship line from the CountryCode attribute on the ISOCountryCodes table to the CountryCode attribute on the Companies table

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