The aim of this thesis is to design a database system which
could easily be used by a publishing company to store data concerning
the products it publishes and to enable such data to be
used in the regular processes of the production of lists of books
and periodicals of certain promotional requirements. In our
approach we have used a relational model which is based on the
mathematical theory of relations. This has certain advantages over
systems designed using tree or plex structures for as the database
grows it will avoid causing upheaval with the logical representation
of data and application programs and provides a basis for a high
level retrieval language.
The query language is designed to answer quickly all enquiries
to the database and is based on principles and techniques developed
from menu construction.
The requirements of the promotional information produced by a
typical publishing house are analysed and a model set up which tests
the theories we have developed.
In addition, the security aspect of the database has been
studied and checks incorporated into the systems to ensure the
authority of the personnel using the system and to provide a permanent
record of all legal and illegal entries for management information
