Lecture 1

Question 1

What does DBLC stand for?

Answer 1

Database Life Cycle

Question 2

What is the first stage of the DBLC?

Answer 2

Requirements analysis

Question 3

What is the last stage of the DBLC?

Answer 3

Monitoring and modification

Question 4

Is the DBLC a continuous process?

Answer 4

Yes

Question 5

What does the DBLC encompass?

Answer 5

The entire lifetime of the database

Question 6

What is involved in requirements analysis?

Answer 6

Assessing the informational needs of an organization

Question 7

What is logical design in the DBLC?

Answer 7

Creating a conceptual model and normalizing tables for efficient data access

Question 8

What is the purpose of physical design?

Answer 8

Optimizing database performance by speeding up data retrieval and writing

Question 9

What does implementation involve in the DBLC?

Answer 9

Converting the ER diagram into SQL statements and executing them in the RDBMS

Question 10

What is the role of the system administrator during implementation?

Answer 10

Installs and configures the RDBMS

Question 11

What are the ongoing activities in the DBLC?

Answer 11

Monitoring, modification, and maintenance

Question 12

Define an entity in database design.

Answer 12

Anything about which data is collected and stored

Question 13

What is an attribute?

Answer 13

A characteristic of an entity

Question 14

What are the three types of relationships?

Answer 14

• One-to-many (1:M) * Many-to-many (M:N) * One-to-one (1:1)

Question 15

What does one-to-many (1:M) mean?

Answer 15

One entity is related to many instances of another entity

Question 16

What does many-to-many (M:N) mean?

Answer 16

Many instances of one entity are related to many instances of another entity

Question 17

What does one-to-one (1:1) mean?

Answer 17

One instance of an entity is related to only one instance of another entity

Question 18

What is a constraint in database design?

Answer 18

A restriction placed on the data to ensure data integrity

Question 19

What is conceptual design in the database design phases?

Answer 19

Shifting from ‘what’ questions to ‘how’ questions regarding data structure

Question 20

What are the three parts of database design?

Answer 20

• Conceptual design * Logical design * Physical design

Question 21

What is cardinality in database relationships?

Answer 21

The number of instances possible for a relationship

Question 22

What is a weak entity?

Answer 22

An entity that cannot exist without another entity

Question 23

What does logical database design achieve?

Answer 23

Transforms a conceptual schema into a schema for a specific DBMS

Question 24

What is the goal of physical design?

Answer 24

Optimizing database performance and ensuring data integrity

Question 25

What does physical design involve?

Answer 25

Translating entities into tables, defining keys, and resolving many-to-many relationships

Question 26

What is denormalization?

Answer 26

A process that may improve performance but can lead to data redundancy

Question 27

How are entities transformed in physical design?

Answer 27

Entities become tables, instances become rows, and attributes become columns

Question 28

What is the importance of monitoring in physical design?

Answer 28

Ongoing adjustments and refinements are necessary