Social network analysisSocial network analysis (SNA) is the process of investigating social structures through the use of networks and graph theory. It characterizes networked structures in terms of nodes (individual actors, people, or things within the network) and the ties, edges, or links (relationships or interactions) that connect them. Examples of social structures commonly visualized through social network analysis include social media networks, meme spread, information circulation, friendship and acquaintance networks, peer learner networks, business networks, knowledge networks, difficult working relationships, collaboration graphs, kinship, disease transmission, and sexual relationships.
Social networkA social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for analyzing the structure of whole social entities as well as a variety of theories explaining the patterns observed in these structures. The study of these structures uses social network analysis to identify local and global patterns, locate influential entities, and examine network dynamics.
Relational modelThe relational model (RM) is an approach to managing data using a structure and language consistent with first-order predicate logic, first described in 1969 by English computer scientist Edgar F. Codd, where all data is represented in terms of tuples, grouped into relations. A database organized in terms of the relational model is a relational database.
Relational databaseA relational database is a (most commonly digital) database based on the relational model of data, as proposed by E. F. Codd in 1970. A system used to maintain relational databases is a relational database management system (RDBMS). Many relational database systems are equipped with the option of using SQL (Structured Query Language) for querying and updating the database. The term "relational database" was first defined by E. F. Codd at IBM in 1970. Codd introduced the term in his research paper "A Relational Model of Data for Large Shared Data Banks".
Relational algebraIn database theory, relational algebra is a theory that uses algebraic structures for modeling data, and defining queries on it with a well founded semantics. The theory was introduced by Edgar F. Codd. The main application of relational algebra is to provide a theoretical foundation for relational databases, particularly query languages for such databases, chief among which is SQL. Relational databases store tabular data represented as relations. Queries over relational databases often likewise return tabular data represented as relations.
Object–relational databaseAn object–relational database (ORD), or object–relational database management system (ORDBMS), is a database management system (DBMS) similar to a relational database, but with an object-oriented database model: objects, classes and inheritance are directly supported in database schemas and in the query language. In addition, just as with pure relational systems, it supports extension of the data model with custom data types and methods. An object–relational database can be said to provide a middle ground between relational databases and object-oriented databases.
Object–relational mappingObject–relational mapping (ORM, O/RM, and O/R mapping tool) in computer science is a programming technique for converting data between a relational database and the heap of an object-oriented programming language. This creates, in effect, a virtual object database that can be used from within the programming language. In object-oriented programming, data-management tasks act on objects that combine scalar values into objects. For example, consider an address book entry that represents a single person along with zero or more phone numbers and zero or more addresses.
Object–relational impedance mismatchObject–relational impedance mismatch creates difficulties going from data in relational data stores (relational database management system [“RDBMS”]) to usage in domain-driven object models. Object-orientation (OO) is the default method for business-centric design in programming languages. The problem lies in neither relational nor OO, but in the conceptual difficulty mapping between the two logic models. Both are logical models implementable differently on database servers, programming languages, design patterns, or other technologies.
Social network analysis softwareSocial network analysis (SNA) software is software which facilitates quantitative or qualitative analysis of social networks, by describing features of a network either through numerical or visual representation. Networks can consist of anything from families, project teams, classrooms, sports teams, legislatures, nation-states, disease vectors, membership on networking websites like Twitter or Facebook, or even the Internet. Networks can consist of direct linkages between nodes or indirect linkages based upon shared attributes, shared attendance at events, or common affiliations.
Social networking serviceA social networking service or SNS (sometimes called a social networking site) is a type of online social media platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interests, activities, backgrounds or real-life connections. Social networking services vary in format and the number of features. They can incorporate a range of new information and communication tools, operating on desktops and on laptops, on mobile devices such as tablet computers and smartphones.
Dynamic network analysisDynamic network analysis (DNA) is an emergent scientific field that brings together traditional social network analysis (SNA), link analysis (LA), social simulation and multi-agent systems (MAS) within network science and network theory. Dynamic networks are a function of time (modeled as a subset of the real numbers) to a set of graphs; for each time point there is a graph. This is akin to the definition of dynamical systems, in which the function is from time to an ambient space, where instead of ambient space time is translated to relationships between pairs of vertices.
Tuple relational calculusTuple calculus is a calculus that was created and introduced by Edgar F. Codd as part of the relational model, in order to provide a declarative database-query language for data manipulation in this data model. It formed the inspiration for the database-query languages QUEL and SQL, of which the latter, although far less faithful to the original relational model and calculus, is now the de facto standard database-query language; a dialect of SQL is used by nearly every relational-database-management system.
