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QuantumSink

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Where We Are: Mapping Our Dystopia

Hey.

Alt Text

See that? It's a diagram! An entity relationship diagram. Wow. Well, thanks for checking it out, I'll...

Okay. Okay, yeah, I'll explain.

This diagram exists to help map out the relationships between several components that are related to the COVID-19 crisis. It's a great visual for understanding the basis of an SQL database as well. We use these diagrams to see what acts on what, what attributes does what have, and how much of what is acting on what.

What.

In a database, these connections exist to help relate entities, and each entity can be used to represent what may be a table of data in an SQL database. A primary use would be to understand... well, primary keys. Keys are used to identify each unique tuple (row) in a data table. After all, if all the data started looking the same, it would be hard to understand what you were looking at. Primary keys ensure that the data for each tuple is meaningful.

If any of these terms are starting to sound foreign, then no worries, foreign keys exist too.

I'm sorry.

You'll see these keys as attributes (columns) assigned to one entity, and their relation back to a primary key from another entity.

Keys are the heart of connections for SQL, and in these next two videos, we'll discuss these topics and how they're stored, connected, and understood in an SQL world, and maybe, you'll find your place in this crazy world of reality as well.

With all that said, you can throw yourself in and think: Where am I, in this world of risks? Would my behavior correlate to them? There's plenty of connections all around, and you can be a key part of someone else's world. You can represent a part of this dystopia. But don't see yourself as a patient, and definitely don't try to become one. Just realize that this isn't an isolated world. We're in this together.

We'll be delving back into this diagram next time, and I hope you all stay safe out there: the risks aren't as bad as long as you know how to keep yourself safe.

Sources:

  1. https://www.guru99.com/er-diagram-tutorial-dbms.html
  2. https://www.texmed.org/uploadedFiles/Current/2016_Public_Health/Infectious_Diseases/309193%20Risk%20Assessment%20Chart%20V2_FINAL.pdf

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