C1[Contact]
S2[Song] --> C1
S3[Song] --> C1
end
subgraph Rollups["⌕ Rollups"]
A1[Album] --> |"count"| N1["3 tracks"]
A1 --> |"sum"| N2["12:34"]
end
subgraph Formulas["𝛾 Formulas"]
F1[First] --> |+| F2[Last]
F2 --> F3["Full Name"]
end
Relations --> Rollups --> Formulas
classDef relation fill:#fef3c7,stroke:#d97706,color:#78350f
classDef rollup fill:#ede9fe,stroke:#7c3aed,color:#4c1d95
classDef formula fill:#d1fae5,stroke:#059669,color:#064e3b
class S1,S2,S3,C1 relation
class A1,N1,N2 rollup
class F1,F2,F3 formula">
C1[Contact]
S2[Song] --> C1
S3[Song] --> C1
end
subgraph Rollups["⌕ Rollups"]
A1[Album] --> |"count"| N1["3 tracks"]
A1 --> |"sum"| N2["12:34"]
end
subgraph Formulas["𝛾 Formulas"]
F1[First] --> |+| F2[Last]
F2 --> F3["Full Name"]
end
Relations --> Rollups --> Formulas
classDef relation fill:#fef3c7,stroke:#d97706,color:#78350f
classDef rollup fill:#ede9fe,stroke:#7c3aed,color:#4c1d95
classDef formula fill:#d1fae5,stroke:#059669,color:#064e3b
class S1,S2,S3,C1 relation
class A1,N1,N2 rollup
class F1,F2,F3 formula">
C1[Contact]
S2[Song] --> C1
S3[Song] --> C1
end
subgraph Rollups["⌕ Rollups"]
A1[Album] --> |"count"| N1["3 tracks"]
A1 --> |"sum"| N2["12:34"]
end
subgraph Formulas["𝛾 Formulas"]
F1[First] --> |+| F2[Last]
F2 --> F3["Full Name"]
end
Relations --> Rollups --> Formulas
classDef relation fill:#fef3c7,stroke:#d97706,color:#78350f
classDef rollup fill:#ede9fe,stroke:#7c3aed,color:#4c1d95
classDef formula fill:#d1fae5,stroke:#059669,color:#064e3b
class S1,S2,S3,C1 relation
class A1,N1,N2 rollup
class F1,F2,F3 formula">
<aside>
🔗
TL;DR: Notion's databases support relations, rollups, and formulas — the building blocks for modeling connected data. Understanding how these work conceptually (even if you never build a system yourself) helps you evaluate tools, ask better questions, and understand why well-designed systems behave the way they do.
</aside>
flowchart LR
subgraph Relations["↗ Relations"]
S1[Song] --> C1[Contact]
S2[Song] --> C1
S3[Song] --> C1
end
subgraph Rollups["⌕ Rollups"]
A1[Album] --> |"count"| N1["3 tracks"]
A1 --> |"sum"| N2["12:34"]
end
subgraph Formulas["𝛾 Formulas"]
F1[First] --> |+| F2[Last]
F2 --> F3["Full Name"]
end
Relations --> Rollups --> Formulas
classDef relation fill:#fef3c7,stroke:#d97706,color:#78350f
classDef rollup fill:#ede9fe,stroke:#7c3aed,color:#4c1d95
classDef formula fill:#d1fae5,stroke:#059669,color:#064e3b
class S1,S2,S3,C1 relation
class A1,N1,N2 rollup
class F1,F2,F3 formula
The three core concepts
1. Relations: connecting records
<aside>
↗️
A relation links a record in one database to a record in another.
Instead of typing "Jordan Smith" in a text field on every song, you create a Contacts database with Jordan's info, then relate each song to Jordan's contact record.
Now:
Jordan's info lives in one place
Every song that relates to Jordan automatically stays current
You can see all songs linked to Jordan from their contact page
</aside>
One-way vs. two-way relations:
One-way: Song → Contact (you can see the contact from the song, but not vice versa)
Two-way: Song ↔ Contact (you can navigate both directions)
Two-way relations are more powerful but create more complexity. Choose based on whether you actually need to navigate both directions.
2. Rollups: pulling data across relations
<aside>
⌕
A rollup pulls data from related records and aggregates it.
If your Album relates to multiple Songs, a rollup can:
Count how many songs are on the album
Sum the total duration
Show all the song titles as a list
Calculate the average BPM
Rollups let you ask questions across your related data without manually counting or calculating.
</aside>
Common rollup operations:
Count — how many related records?
Sum — add up a number field across related records