Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD)

(back to diagrams and charts)

Key Concepts in ERD:

  • Entities: Objects or concepts, represented as rectangles or ovals, that have a distinct existence in the system.
  • Relationships: Lines connecting entities that define how the entities are related.
  • Cardinality: Specifies how many instances of one entity can be associated with instances of another entity (one-to-one, one-to-many, or many-to-many).
    • You could just make a note about the relationship. Not all relationships are about how many.
  • Attributes: Details about the entities (e.g., a person has a name, address, etc.).

This technique is useful for designing databases or analyzing how different components of a system are related to each other.