Creating relationships

[Asha]

Okay, in a nutshell, I am trying to create a database
that needs to have the following information: 1) Names
and contact information, 2)adivory board/committee
information, 3) Events, and 4) RSVP information for these
events. I do know how to create tables for each of these
items, BUT, I am having a heck of a time linking all this
different data. Is there anyone who can help me
especially in the area of creating many to many
relationships and linking tables?

 

[Steve Schapel]

Asha,

I have concluded that some people have the type of brain that can
handle the concept of many-to-many relationships and "linking tables",
and some do not. I am one who does not... not without a struggle,
anyway. To me, it is much more natural to always think in terms of
one-to-many relationships. If there appears to be a many-to-many
relationship, the approach of "put in a linking table" seems to
discount the validity of the linking table as an entity/subject in its
own right. I have discussed this before with various people, and some
feel it is a minor distinction, but to me it is not, and so I offer it
here in case your brain resembles mine in some way Using your
example, then, you have got People and Events. To me, this means that
there is another entity that needs to be included in the database
design, to describe the interaction between the People and the Events.
The People attend the Events. The Events are attended by the People.
Aha, we need an Attendance table. There is a one-to-many relationship
between People and Attendance. There is a one-to-many relationship
between Events and Attendance. So...
Table: People
PersonID
PersonName
Address
etc

Table: Events
EventID
EventName
Venue
EventDate
etc

Table: Attendance
AttendanceID
EventID
PersonID
etc

- Steve Schapel, Microsoft Access MVP