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Multiplicity vs Cardinality

When talking about data models and databases, the term Cardinality is often used to describe the number of allowed elements in a given set.

UML often refers to the same property as Multiplicity.

Is there any differences between these two terms or are they synonymous?

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Sam Shiles Avatar asked Jul 26 '13 09:07

Sam Shiles


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What does 1 * mean in UML?

If you have 1.. * on the Class end that means that a Student has at least 1 and possible more Classes . 0.. * on the Class end means that a student could also have no Classes at all.

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Cardinality's official, non-database dictionary definition is mathematical: the number of values in a set. When applied to databases, the meaning is a bit different: it's the number of distinct values in a table column relative to the number of rows in the table. Repeated values in the column don't count.


1 Answers

The simplest explanation would be to say:

Multiplicity = Cardinality + Participation

Cardinality: Denotes the maximum number of possible relationship occurrences in which a certain entity can participate in (in simple terms: at most).

Participation: Denotes if all or only some entity occurrences participate in a relationship (in simple terms: at least).

Ex: enter image description here

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Suleka_28 Avatar answered Sep 24 '22 02:09

Suleka_28