Chen's 1976 paper on ER modeling

Chen’s 1976 paper introduced the Entity-Relationship (ER) model, a way to visually represent data and its structure within a system. It uses diagrams to show "entities" (like customers or products) and the relationships between them (such as purchases). This approach helps designers organize and understand complex data before building databases. Chen emphasized clarity and simplicity, making it easier for people to communicate the design and ensure the database accurately reflects real-world scenarios. Overall, his work laid the foundation for modern database modeling methods used in many fields today.