Abstract
Applications developers who take time to understand the power of relational model will benefit from reduced development time, lower costs, fewer maintenance headaches, and above all, greater satisfaction. The exploitation of this power will allow applications developers to meet the challenge of today's business environment. This column explores the motivations for the development of the relational model, reviews the origins and fundamentals of the relational model, and demonstrates the importance of understanding the relational model to fully exploit the power of relational data base management systems (RDBMs).