Well done. But I have to note, the chapter "Schema Refinement - Functional Dependencies" is an example of what drives many students out of CS. Even so, this is one of the better introductions to functional dependencies that I've read.
If they can't stand theory, they shouldn't be trying to learn theoretical database foundations.
I agree that, at introduction, material should be made as accessible to students as possible. At the same time, we shouldn't dumb down the field for more advanced students.
It's a topic that you'll experience halfway through a graduate-level textbook on databases like Elmasri's Fundamentals of Database Systems. No gentle way to do it, and a student has probably been driven away or not well before they read about it.
We covered functional dependencies (in the same level of detail that's provided in the OP's link) in the first half of my undergraduate databases course at UIUC last year. It was painful to say the least.
I know what you mean (I think this concept put me to sleep in class) but on the other hand, it doesn't really have to be. I think with these sorts of concepts teaching technique is terribly important.
blueatlas cited the bit on functional dependencies as "an example of what drives many students out of CS" but I'd say that more than anything it's an example of a tricky topic that ought to be presented by a highly engaging, smart instructor instead of a boring one who may or may not understand the material very well. (in retrospect, my feelings and his aren't mutually exclusive)
