This book provides a concise but comprehensive guide to the disciplines of database design, construction, implementation, and management. Based on the authors’ professional experience in the software engineering and IT industries before making a career switch to academia, the text stresses sound database design as a necessary precursor to successful development and administration of database systems. The discipline of database systems design and management is discussed within the context of the bigger picture of software engineering. Students are led to understand from the outset of the text that a database is a critical component of a software infrastructure, and that proper database design and management is integral to the success of a software system. Additionally, students are led to appreciate the huge value of a properly designed database to the success of a business enterprise.