Final answer:
Mapping an REA model to a relational DBMS involves identifying REA elements as tables, determining relationships for foreign keys, creating the tables with primary and foreign keys, and defining the attributes of each table, including data types and constraints.
Step-by-step explanation:
The REA model (Resources, Events, Agents) provides a framework for conceptualizing a database that reflects an organization's business processes. Mapping an REA model to a relational DBMS (Database Management System) typically involves four main steps:
- Identify and define the resources, events, and agents which will serve as the tables in the relational database.
- Determine the relationships between these elements, such as one-to-one, one-to-many, or many-to-many, which will turn into the foreign key constraints in the database.
- Create tables for each entity and relationship, with appropriate primary keys and foreign keys to maintain referential integrity.
- Define the attributes for each table that represent properties of resources, events, and agents, including assigning data types and constraints to these attributes.
Completing these steps translates the business transactions and other activities of the organization into a structured database that can be used for tracking, reporting, and analyzing business performance.