Unit 4: Technologies in Accounting Information Flashcards
Define Data Definition Language (DDL)
A programming language used to define the physical database to the DBMS. The definition includes the names and the relationship of all data elements, records, and files that constitute the database.
The DDL defines the database on three levels called views: the internal view, the conceptual view (schema), and the user view (subschema).
Define Data Manipulation Language (DML)
The proprietary programming language, which a particular DBMS uses to retrieve, process, and store data.
What occurs in the normalization process when an unnormalized table is brought to 1NF?
Repeating groups in the table tuple are removed
ex. If the primary key in a Sales Invoice table is “Invoice Num,” the table tuple containing each line item will include repeating data. Each line item would contain the same invoice number, order date, ship date, customer number, etc. To remove the repeating groups, that information is put into a Line Item Table where the primary key is “Invoice Num” + “Prod Num” and then removed from the Sales Invoice table.
What occurs in the normalization process when a table is brought from 1NF to 2NF?
Partial Dependencies are removed
A Partial Dependency is present any time one or more nonkey attributes are dependent on only part of the primary key rather than the whole key
ex. A Line Item Table is created where the primary key is “Invoice Num” + “Prod Num” The Production Description and Unit Price are two attributes that are only dependent on “Prod Num” and not “Invoice Num.” To remove Partial Dependencies, the Product Description and Unit price data will be moved to an Inventory Table where the only primary key is “Product Num”
What occurs in the normalization process when a table is brought from 2NF to 3NF?
Transitive Dependencies are removed
ex. If the primary key in a Sales Invoice table is “Invoice Num”, that primary key can uniquely and wholly identify the Order Date and Ship Date. It does not uniquely identify the customer attributes such as Cust Name, Street Address, Telephone Number. These customer attributes are identified with Cust Num which is a non-key attribute. The customer attributes in this table are Transitive Dependencies and need to be removed and added to a new Customer Table where “Cust Num” is the primary key.
What is the normalization process used for?
Removing anomalies from data tables that could cause update, insertion, and deletion anomalies
After normalization process, the table will meet two conditions:
-all non-key attributes in the table are dependent on the primary key
-all non-key attributes are independent of all other non-key attributes
What is a problem usually associated with the flat-file approach to data management?
Data Redundancy.
Excel spreadsheets are an example of a flat-file database. There is no simple way to determine if a particular data item is already in the spreadsheet, especially as the spreadsheet grows.
The only way to determine if data is available in the file is to sequentially read through the entire file from beginning to end, or until the desired data is encountered.
Which View (the internal view, the conceptual view (schema), and the user view (subschema)) is a description of the physical arrangement of records in the database?
Internal View
The internal view shows the way that the data is organized in the database. This is also known as the hierarchical view.
Which View (the internal view, the conceptual view (schema), and the user view (subschema)) may provide many distinct views of the database?
User View
The user view (subschema) shows that segment of the database that the user can access. This access with vary by user as their requirements vary by business function.
What causes the update anomaly in unnormalized tables?
The update anomaly occurs because of data redundancy in unnormalized tables.
Because data can appear multiple times in an unnormalized database, it is difficult to ensure that all occurrences get updated when a change occurs.
What is an ERP?
ERP systems are multiple module software packages that integrates key processes of the organization.
ERP systems support a smooth and seamless flow of information across the organization by providing a standardized environment for a firm’s business processes and a common operational database that supports communications.
Under the traditional model, each functional area or department has its own computer system optimized to the way it does its daily business. ERP combines all of these into a single, integrated system that accesses a single database to facilitate the sharing of information and to improve communications across the organization.
What are the disadvantages to a traditional model that employs closed database architecture?
As with the flat-file approach, the data remain the property of the application. Thus, distinct, separate, and independent databases exist. There is a high degree of data redundancy.
When a customer places an order, the order begins a paper-based journey around the company, where it is keyed and rekeyed into the systems of several different departments. These redundant tasks cause delays and lost orders and promote data entry errors. During transit through various systems, the order status may be unknown at any point.
What are the two general groups of applications of ERP functionality?
Core Applications
Business Analysis Applications
What are Core Applications?
Core applications are those applications that operationally support the day-to-day activities of the business. If these applications fail, so does the business.
Ex. sales and distribution, business planning, production planning, shop floor control, logistics
AKA online transaction processing (OLTP)
What is a data mart?
When a data warehouse is organized for a single department or function, it is often called a data mart. Rather than containing hundreds of gigabytes of data for the entire enterprise, a data mart may have only tens of gigabytes of data.
What are the five stages of the data warehousing process?
Modeling data for the data warehouse
Extracting data from operational databases
Cleansing extracted data
Transforming data into the warehouse model
Loading data into the data warehouse database
What is the difference between private key and public key encryption techniques?
Private Key - Both the sender and the receiver use the same encryption key.
Public Key - Technique that uses two encryption keys: one for encoding the message, the other for decoding it.
What is the difference between network-level firewall and application-level firewall?
Network-Level Firewall: System that provides basic screening of low-security messages (e.g., e-mail) and routes them to their destinations based on the source and destination addresses attached.
Application-Level Firewall: Provide high-level network security.
What are Intelligent Control Agents?
Computer programs that embody auditor-defined heuristics that search electronic transactions for anomalies.
What is Verisign?
Verisign is a for-profit organization that provides assurance regarding the security of transmitted data.
Its mission is to provide digital certificate solutions that enable trusted commerce and communications. Its products allow customers to transmit encrypted data and verify the source and destination of transmissions.
What is a VAN?
In an EDI environment, a client’s trading parnter’s computer automatically generates electronic transactions, which are relayed across a value-added network (VAN), and the client’s computer processes the transactions without human intervention.
What is a firewall?
A firewall is a system used to insulate an organization’s intranet from the Internet. It can be used to authenticate an outside user of the network, verify his or her level of access authority, and then direct the user to the program, data, or service requested. In addition to insulating the organization’s network from external networks, firewalls can also be used to protect LANs from unauthorized internal access.
What are Seals of Assurance?
In response to consumer demand for evidence that a web-based business is trustworthy, a number of trusted third-party organizations are offering seals of assurance that businesses can display on their website home pages. To legitimately bear the seal, the company must show that it complies with certain business practices, capabilities, and controls. This best known six seal-granting organizations are - Better Business Bureau (BBB), TRUSTe, Verisign, Inc., International Computer Security Association (ICSA), AICPA/CICA WebTrust, and AICPA/CICA SysTrust.
What is a digital signature?
A digital signature is derived from the digest of a document that has been encrypted with the sender’s private key. A digital signature is an electronic authentication technique that ensures the transmitted message originated with the authorized sender and that it was not tampered with after the signature was applied.
