Download True-False Questions

Chapter 7
Managing Data Resources
7-1
Chapter 7
Managing Data Resources
True-False Questions
1.
The benefits of a DBMS are immediately tangible.
Answer: False
2.
Reference: p. 237
Difficulty: Hard
Reference: p. 238
Difficulty: Hard
Reference: p. 239
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 239
Difficulty: Easy
Reference: p. 240
The strength of the relational model is that it can relate data in two files if the files share a
common data element.
Answer: True
11.
Difficulty: Medium
The most popular type of DBMS today for PCs is the network DBMS.
Answer: False
10.
Reference: p. 236
More advanced data dictionaries are active in that related programs can automatically use
changes in the dictionary.
Answer: True
9.
Difficulty: Medium
A data manipulation language is usually used to replace conventional third- and fourthgeneration programming languages to manipulate the data in the database.
Answer: False
8.
Reference: p. 235
A DBMS eliminates most of the data definition statements found in traditional programs.
Answer: True
7.
Difficulty: Easy
A traditional file processing system cannot deliver ad hoc reports in a timely fashion.
Answer: True
6.
Reference: p. 234
In traditional file processing, each functional area, by developing its own specialized
applications, contributes to data redundancy and wastes resources.
Answer: True
5.
Difficulty: Easy
A record describes an entity.
Answer: True
4.
Reference: p. 234
Excellent hardware and software will result in inefficient information systems if file
management is poor.
Answer: True
3.
Difficulty: Easy
Difficulty: Easy
Reference: p. 240
The project operation creates a subset consisting of columns in a table.
Answer: True
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 241
7-2
Managing Data Resources
12.
The hierarchical model DBMS is a later version of the relational model DBMS.
Answer: False
13.
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 245
Difficulty: Hard
Reference: p. 246
Difficulty: Easy
Reference: p. 247
Difficulty: Easy
Reference: p. 247
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 247
Difficulty: Easy
Reference: p. 247
The fundamental principle of data administration is to define ownership of data by the area
that produces them.
Answer: False
24.
Reference: p. 244
The end-user is the primary advocate in the organization for database systems.
Answer: False
23.
Difficulty: Medium
The intent of the data administration function is to define information requirements for the
entire company, with direct access to senior management.
Answer: True
22.
Reference: p. 244
Local databases can create security problems by widely distributing access to sensitive data.
Answer: True
21.
Difficulty: Medium
Distributed systems increase the vulnerability of a central site.
Answer: False
20.
Reference: p. 244
Most relational databases in use today have become fully normalized over the time during
which they have been used.
Answer: False
19.
Difficulty: Medium
The entity-relationship diagram documents the physical design of the database.
Answer: False
18.
Reference: p. 243
The two design exercises primary to the design of a database are logical and physical.
Answer: True
17.
Difficulty: Hard
Conventional DBMS can easily handle graphics-based and multimedia applications.
Answer: False
16.
Reference: p. 243
IBM’s IMS is a reliable hierarchical system still in use by many banks.
Answer: True
15.
Difficulty: Medium
Hierarchical structures are limited in that each child may have only one parent.
Answer: True
14.
Chapter 7
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 248
The purpose of enterprise analysis is to identify the key entities, attributes, and relationships
that constitute the organization’s data.
Answer: True
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 248
Chapter 7
25.
Managing Data Resources
A database serves the same community of users as traditional systems.
Answer: False
26.
Reference: p. 250
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 250
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 250
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 251
Difficulty: Easy
Reference: p. 251
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 253
With the hypermedia database approach, the relationship between records is less structured
than in a traditional DBMS.
Answer: True
36.
Difficulty: Medium
Hypermedia databases store chunks of multimedia information in the form of nodes
connected by links the user specifies.
Answer: True
35.
Reference: p. 250
Datamining poses challenges to the protection of individual privacy.
Answer: True
34.
Difficulty: Medium
Datamining helps companies engage in target marketing.
Answer: True
33.
Reference: p. 249
Too many data marts create complexity, costs, and management problems.
Answer: True
32.
Difficulty: Medium
A data mart is a subset of a hierarchical system.
Answer: False
31.
Reference: p. 249
A major advantage to data warehousing is that key operational data is available in a
consistent, reliable, accessible format.
Answer: True
30.
Difficulty: Medium
The primary advantage of a data warehouse is that anyone can access and update the data
stored in the data warehouse.
Answer: False
29.
Reference: p. 248
With traditional systems, what is immediately available is current data only.
Answer: True
28.
Difficulty: Easy
OLAP is another term for multidimensional data analysis.
Answer: True
27.
7-3
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 253
The hypermedia database approach enables users to access topics on a Web site in
whatever order they wish.
Answer: True
Difficulty: Easy
Reference: p. 253
7-4
Managing Data Resources
37.
Legacy databases can be linked to the Web via middleware and other software products.
Answer: True
38.
Reference: p. 254
Difficulty: Hard
Reference: p. 254
It costs more to add a Web interface in front of a legacy system than it does to redesign and
rebuild the system to improve user access.
Answer: False
40.
Difficulty: Medium
The software between the Web server and the DBMS must always be an application server.
Answer: False
39.
Chapter 7
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 255
An advantage to using the Web to access an organization’s internal databases is that the
Web interface requires no changes to the internal database.
Answer: True
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 255
Multiple- Choice Questions
41.
Implementing a database requires widespread organizational change in:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
the role of information.
the allocation of power at senior management levels.
the ownership and sharing of information.
patterns of organizational agreement.
All of the above
Answer: e
42.
Reference: p. 234
The costs of moving to a database environment are:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
tangible, low, and back-loaded.
intangible, back-loaded, and long-term.
short-term, expensive, and intangible.
tangible, up front, and large in the short term.
up front, intangible, and expensive.
Answer: d
43.
Difficulty: Medium
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 234
The benefits of moving to a database environment are:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
tangible, low, and back-loaded.
back-loaded, expensive, and short term.
intangible, back-loaded, and long term.
short term, expensive, and intangible.
up front, intangible, and inexpensive.
Answer: c
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 234
Chapter 7
44.
Managing Data Resources
An effective information system provides users with:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
inexpensive information.
timely, accurate, and relevant information.
everything they need to make decisions.
many reports from different angles.
an enterprise system.
Answer: b
45.
Difficulty: Hard
Reference: p. 234
The data hierarchy goes from bits and bytes to:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
entities, attributes, fields, and records.
fields, attributes, entities, and records.
fields, records, files, and databases.
records, entities, fields, and databases.
attributes, entities, records, and tuples.
Answer: c
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 235
A characteristic or quality describing an entity is called a(n):
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
field.
tuple.
key field.
attribute.
record.
Answer: d
48.
Reference: p. 234
poor file management.
management interference in MIS.
lack of cooperation between staff and line departments.
outdated computers and bad information.
poorly-paid personnel.
Answer: a
47.
Difficulty: Medium
Many organizations have inefficient information systems because of:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
46.
7-5
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 235
Duplicate data in multiple data files is:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
data redundancy.
data multiplication.
always necessary in networked databases.
typical of the relational model.
a characteristic of a hierarchy.
Answer: a
Difficulty: Easy
Reference: p. 237
7-6
Managing Data Resources
49.
In a traditional file environment, any change in data requires:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
a different entity description.
a change in all programs that access the data.
management approval.
data redundancy.
a different data dictionary.
Answer: b
50.
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 238
The logical description of the entire database showing all the data elements and
relationships among them best describes:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
data definition language.
data dictionary.
physical schema.
conceptual schema.
subschema.
Answer: d
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 238
The specific set of data from the database that is required by each user or application
program best describes:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
data definition language.
data dictionary.
physical schema.
conceptual schema.
subschema.
Answer: e
53.
Reference: p. 237
the user.
the reporting facility.
the logical design of the database.
the physical data files.
None of the above
Answer: d
52.
Difficulty: Medium
The DBMS acts as an interface between application programs and:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
51.
Chapter 7
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 239
SQL is:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
a first-generation language.
the standard data manipulation language for relational DBMS.
the query language used for networked databases.
never used for reports.
a natural language approach to gathering information from databases.
Answer: b
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 239
Chapter 7
54.
Managing Data Resources
Many data dictionaries can:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
be used with a third- or fourth-generation programming language.
set up the forms required by applications programs.
be substituted for the data manipulation language.
produce lists and reports of data use, program locations, etc.
All of the above
Answer: d
55.
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 240
The three basic operations used to develop useful sets of data in a relational database
are:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
sort, select, and report.
combine, relate, and sort.
select, project, and join.
project, combine, and report.
join, relate, and sort.
Answer: c
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 241
The hierarchical DBMS:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
presents data to users in a treelike structure.
allows one parent for each child.
organizes data elements into segments.
allows many children to one parent.
All of the above
Answer: e
58.
Reference: p. 239
combines the hierarchical model and the network model.
treats data as if they were stored in two-dimensional tables.
makes reports more difficult to program.
shares common data elements with application programs.
All of the above
Answer: b
57.
Difficulty: Hard
A relational DBMS model:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
56.
7-7
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 243
Hierarchical DBMS can still be found in:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
older, less flexible management environments that do not understand modern media.
large legacy systems that require intensive high-volume transaction processing.
small new companies that do not need relational DBMS.
object-oriented environments.
companies using low-level programming languages.
Answer: b
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 244
7-8
Managing Data Resources
59.
The conceptual design of a database is:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
more important than the physical design.
an abstract model of the database from the business perspective.
easier for a programmer to understand than the logical design.
the actual arrangement of data on direct access storage devices.
an easy-to-change data model.
Answer: b
60.
Difficulty: Hard
Reference: p. 245
Database designers document the conceptual data model with:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
normalization diagrams.
an entity-relationship diagram.
a distributed-hierarchical diagram.
an entity-attributes diagram.
a database model.
Answer: b
Difficulty: Hard
Reference: p. 245
To use a relational database model effectively:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
three-dimensional models must be created.
there must be a minimum of four relationships.
flat files must be eliminated.
complex groupings of data must be streamlined.
All of the above
Answer: d
63.
Reference: p. 244
data flow diagram.
state transition diagram.
entity-relationship diagram.
entity sequence diagram.
object model.
Answer: c
62.
Difficulty: Easy
A methodology for documenting databases illustrating the relationship between various
entities in the database best describes:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
61.
Chapter 7
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 245
If a database has been carefully considered, with a clear understanding of business
information needs and uses:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
relationships arrange themselves.
the database model will most likely be in some normalized form.
each part will have only one supplier.
repeating groups will occur.
all the attributes will be listed first.
Answer: b
Difficulty: Easy
Reference: p. 246
Chapter 7
64.
Managing Data Resources
A distributed database:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
can pose security problems.
does not need to be updated often.
is updated continuously at the central location.
is on one client/server network.
is usually in a small geographic area, such as a university.
Answer: a
65.
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 247
The organizational interests served by the DBMS are _________________ than those in
the traditional file environment.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
narrower
easier to control
easier to understand
much broader
less secure
Answer: d
Difficulty: Easy
Reference: p. 248
Enterprise analysis:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
is needed to develop databases.
must be undertaken before the firm does business on the Internet.
is not pertinent to database design and development.
sets out specific procedures and accountabilities.
is usually a security issue.
Answer: a
68.
Reference: p. 247
often can run on smaller, less expensive computers.
increase service and responsiveness to local users.
depend on high-quality telecommunication lines.
pose security problems by widely distributing access to sensitive data.
All of the above
Answer: e
67.
Difficulty: Medium
Distributed systems:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
66.
7-9
Difficulty: Hard
Reference: p. 248
Relational systems with fourth-generation query languages:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
are outdated today.
permit employees who are not computer specialists to access large databases.
require extensive employee training before they can be accessed.
are not useful to Internet companies.
are not yet available to most businesses.
Answer: b
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 248
7-10
Managing Data Resources
69.
Multidimensional analysis:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
enables users to view the same data in different ways using multiple dimensions.
uses current data only.
plots data on a variable line.
is not good for historical data.
is best used in larger companies.
Answer: a
70.
Difficulty: Hard
Reference: p. 249
OLAP stands for:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
object-oriented layered application programming.
object-relational legacy attributes placement.
objective layered attributes processing.
online legacy application placement.
online analytical processing.
Answer: e
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 249
Data warehousing uses data from:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
daily reports only.
diverse applications and locations.
diverse applications, but one location.
many locations, but one application.
primarily government locations.
Answer: b
73.
Reference: p. 248
the IS department maintains tight control of all data and its distribution.
data are easier to locate, but harder to keep secure.
data are fragmented in separate operational systems.
data are harder to locate, but easier to keep secure.
None of the above
Answer: c
72.
Difficulty: Easy
Under traditional data systems:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
71.
Chapter 7
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 250
Datamining:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
cannot predict likely future behavior.
finds hidden patterns and relationships in large pools of data.
is illegal.
is not accurate for small companies.
looks only at broad areas, not detail.
Answer: b
Difficulty: Easy
Reference: p. 251
Chapter 7
74.
Managing Data Resources
Individual privacy can be threatened by:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
older legacy systems.
datamining.
multidimensional modeling.
data administration.
database administration.
Answer: b
75.
7-11
Difficulty: Easy
Reference: p. 251
CGI:
a. stands for Consumer Graphic Interface.
b. is a specification for transferring information between a Web server and a program
designed to accept and return data.
c. is a corporate approach to data warehousing.
d. is a search engine written using PERL.
e. is always Java-based.
Answer: b
76.
do not need to deal with privacy issues.
organize data along traditional product lines.
can make use of large public databases.
can integrate different platforms in their information interface.
can access enterprise data through a Web interface.
Answer: e
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 255
The principal types of DBMS today are:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
hierarchical and legacy.
legacy and object-oriented.
relational and legacy.
relational and object-oriented.
hierarchical and relational.
Answer: d
78.
Reference: p. 254
The major enterprise system vendors have enhanced their software so that users:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
77.
Difficulty: Medium
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 257
The organization’s data model should reflect:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
its key business processes and decision-making requirements.
its concern with security.
management understanding of data processing.
its connection to legacy systems.
social awareness.
Answer: a
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 257
7-12
Managing Data Resources
Chapter 7
Fill In the Blanks
79.
A(n) field is a grouping of characters into a word, a group of words, or a complete number.
Difficulty: Easy
80.
A(n) record is a group of related fields.
Difficulty: Easy
81.
Reference: p. 237
A(n) database, by rigorous definition, is a collection of data organized to service many
applications at the same time by storing and managing data so that they appear to be in one
location.
Difficulty: Medium
89.
Reference: p. 235
The close relationship between data stored in files and the software programs that update
and maintain those data is called program data dependence.
Difficulty: Hard
88.
Reference: p. 235
Data redundancy is the presence of duplicate data in multiple data files.
Difficulty: Medium
87.
Reference: p. 235
A(n) key field is the field in a record that uniquely identifies instances of that record so that it
can be retrieved, updated, or sorted.
Difficulty: Easy
86.
Reference: p. 235
A(n) attribute is a piece of information describing a particular entity.
Difficulty: Medium
85.
Reference: p. 235
A(n) entity is a person, place, thing, or event about which information must be kept.
Difficulty: Medium
84.
Reference: p. 235
A(n) database is a group of related files.
Difficulty: Easy
83.
Reference: p. 235
A(n) file is a group of records of the same type.
Difficulty: Easy
82.
Reference: p. 235
Reference: p. 238
A(n) database management system (DBMS) is special software to create and maintain a
database and enable individual business applications to extract the data they need without
having to create separate files or data definitions in their computer programs.
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 238
Chapter 7
90.
Managing Data Resources
The logical view presents data as they would be perceived by end users or business
specialists.
Difficulty: Medium
91.
93.
94.
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 239
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 239
A(n) data element is a field.
A(n) data definition language is the component of a database management system that
defines each data element as it appears in the database.
Reference: p. 239
A(n) relational DBMS is a type of logical database model that treats data as if they were
stored in two-dimensional tables. It can associate data stored in one table to data in another
as long as the two tables share a common data element.
Difficulty: Medium
99.
Reference: p. 239
A(n) data dictionary is an automated or manual tool for storing and organizing information
about the data maintained in a database.
Difficulty: Medium
98.
Reference: p. 239
The standard data manipulation language for relational database management systems is
SQL (Structured Query Language).
Difficulty: Medium
97.
Reference: p. 239
A(n) data manipulation language is the language associated with a database management
system that end users and programmers use to manipulate data in the database.
Difficulty: Medium
96.
Reference: p. 238
A subschema is the specific set of data from the database that is required by each user or
application program.
Difficulty: Medium
95.
Reference: p. 238
The physical view shows how data are actually organized and structured on physical
storage media.
Difficulty: Medium
92.
7-13
Reference: p. 240
A(n) tuple is a row or record in a relational database.
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 240
100. The select operation creates a subset consisting of all records in the file that meet stated
criteria.
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 241
7-14
Managing Data Resources
Chapter 7
101. The join operation combines relational tables to provide the user with more information than
is available in the individual tables.
Difficulty: Hard
Reference: p. 241
102. The project operation creates a subset consisting of columns in a table, permitting the user
to create new tables that contain only the information required.
Difficulty: Hard
Reference: p. 241
103. A(n) hierarchical DBMS is an older logical database model that organizes data in a treelike
structure.
Difficulty: Hard
Reference: p. 243
104. A(n) network DBMS is an older logical database model that is useful for depicting many-tomany relationships.
Difficulty: Hard
Reference: p. 243
105. A(n) object-oriented DBMS is an approach to data management that stores both data and
the procedures acting on the data as objects that can be automatically retrieved and shared.
Difficulty: Hard
Reference: p. 244
106. A(n) object-relational DBMS is a database management system that combines the
capabilities of a relational DBMS for storing traditional information and the capabilities of an
object-oriented DBMS.
Difficulty: Hard
Reference: p. 244
107. A(n) entity-relationship diagram is a methodology for documenting databases illustrating
the relationship between various entities in the database.
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 245
108. Normalization is the process of creating small, stable, and adaptive data structures from
complex groups of data when designing a relational database.
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 245
109. A(n) distributed database is a database that is stored in more than one physical location.
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 246
110. Data administration is a special organizational function for managing the organization’s
data resources; it is concerned with information policy, data planning, maintenance of data
dictionaries, and data quality standards.
Difficulty: Hard
Reference: p. 247
111. A(n) information policy is the set of formal rules governing the maintenance, distribution,
and use of information in an organization.
Difficulty: Easy
Reference: p. 248
Chapter 7
Managing Data Resources
7-15
112. Database administration refers to the more technical and operational aspects of managing
data, including physical database design and maintenance.
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 248
113. The capability for manipulating and analyzing large volumes of data from multiple
perspectives is called on-line analytical processing (OLAP).
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 249
114. A(n) data warehouse is a database with reporting and query tools that stores current and
historical data extracted from various operational systems and consolidated for management
reporting and analysis.
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 250
115. A(n) data mart is a small data warehouse containing only a portion of the organization’s data
for a specified function or population of users.
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 250
116. Datamining is the analysis of large pools of data to find patterns and rules that can be used
to guide decision making and predict future behavior.
Difficulty: Medium
Reference: p. 251
117. A(n) hypermedia database is an approach to data management that organizes data as a
network of nodes linked in any pattern the user specifies; the nodes can contain text,
graphics, sound, full-motion video, or executable programs.
Difficulty: Hard
Reference: p. 253
118. A(n) database server is a computer in a client/server environment that is responsible for
running a DBMS to process SQL statements and perform database management tasks.
Difficulty: Easy
Reference: p. 254
7-16
Managing Data Resources
Chapter 7
Essay Questions
119.
Discuss the issue of organizational change, especially changes in power
arrangements, which can occur when an organization institutes an organization-wide
DBMS.
Implementing a database requires widespread organizational change in the role of
information (and information managers), the allocation of power at senior levels, the
ownership and sharing of information, and patterns of organizational agreement. A DBMS
challenges the existing power arrangements in an organization and for that reason often
generates political resistance. In a traditional file environment, each department constructed
files and programs to fulfill its specific needs. Now, with a database, files and programs must
be built that take into account the full organization’s interest in data. Although the
organization has spent the money on hardware and software for a database environment, it
may not reap the benefits it should because it is unwilling to make the requisite
organizational changes.
120.
Discuss the hierarchical organization of data in a typical database.
A bit is a one (1) or a zero (0), the smallest unit of data a computer can handle. Eight bits
compose a byte, which normally stands for one character or letter. Characters make up
fields, which are named groupings of characters. A group of related fields creates a record,
each of which describes one entity. A group of related records composes a file. Groups of
related files compose a database. Each record must contain one field, called the key, which
uniquely identifies that particular entity in the file. Linking fields that occur in both files
through the key field of one of the files to the same field data in the second file can relate
entities file-to-file.
121.
Identify four problems endemic to the traditional file environment.
If each branch of the organization designs, manages, and keeps its own information, the
problems of data redundancy, program-data dependence, inflexibility, poor data security, and
inability to share data among applications will become apparent, and worsen, with time.
122.
How does the database approach to data management increase the efficiency and
effectiveness of an organization?
The DBMS (database management system) uses special software to create and maintain a
central database available to everyone in the organization. This enables individual business
applications to extract the data they need without having to create separate files or data
definitions. The data are more secure because they are held in one place, more consistent
and accurate because the same data are not kept in many separate files (each of which must
be updated accurately when the data changes), and more flexible because the DBMS
supports ad hoc inquiries.
123.
What is meant by the term “normalization”? Why are some effective DBMS systems
not completely normalized?
To use a relational database model effectively, complex groupings of data must be
streamlined to eliminate redundant data elements and awkward many-to-many relationships.
The process of creating small, stable data structures from complex groups of data is called
“normalization”. The objective is to set the data files up so that each item of data required by
the DBMS need be entered only once, then pulled for multiple reports as required by the
various applications. Many real-world databases are not fully normalized because this may
not be the most sensible way to meet their business information requirements. In a case
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where each single part is always ordered from the same manufacturer, and each
manufacturer is responsible only for the one part it provides, fully normalizing the database
would require two separate files—one for the parts, another for the manufacturer – which in
this case would not be efficient.
124.
Define each of the following pairs of terms, distinguishing between the members of
each pair. Logical view and physical view; data definition language and data
manipulation language; data dictionary and data element.
The logical view of the database is the representation of data, as they would appear to an
application programmer or end user. The physical view of the data is the representation of
data, as they would actually be placed on the physical storage media.
The data definition language is that component of a database management system that
defines each data element as it appears in the database. The data manipulation language is
the language associated with a DBMS that end users and programmers use to query the
data in the database. SQL is the standard for relational DBMS.
The data dictionary is an automated or manual file that stores the descriptions of data
elements and their characteristics, such as usage, physical representation, ownership,
authorization, and security. A data element represents the field itself, with its name, the
names that reference this element in specific systems. The individuals, business functions,
programs, and reports that use this data element are also identified.
125.
Describe the three basic operations of the relational database.
The three basic operations are select, join, and project. The select operation creates a
subset consisting of all records in the file that meet stated criteria. The project operation
creates a subset consisting of columns in a table, permitting the user to create new tables
that contain only the information required. The join operation combines relational tables to
provide the user with more information than is available in the individual tables.
126.
List and describe the four critical elements in a database environment.
The textbook identifies data administration, data planning and modeling methodology,
database technology and management, and users as the four critical elements. Data
administration is the special organizational function for managing the organization’s data
resources; it is concerned with information policy, data planning, maintenance of data
dictionaries, and data quality standards. Data planning and modeling methodology is the use
of enterprise analysis to identify and address the information requirements of the entire
organization, as opposed to the requirements of individual applications. Enterprise analysis
identifies the key entities, attributes, and relationships that constitute the organization’s data.
Database technology and management refers to the decisions and processes involved in the
purchase of hardware and software and the identification of those in management who are
responsible for specific areas of data gathering, maintenance, and reporting. Users are the
individuals who actually manipulate the data gathered, creating and distributing the
necessary reports.
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127.
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Define and describe OLAP and its potential uses.
Online analytical processing provides powerful tools for the manipulation and analysis of
large volumes of data from multiple perspectives or dimensions. It provides analyses that
traditional database models cannot represent, such as the ability to compare and manipulate
product, pricing, cost, region, or time period, each in relationship to any one of the others.
These data views can become very complex, with one set nested within another. Senior
management can use such views in planning long-range changes in the organization.
128.
Define and describe data warehouses, data marts, and datamining. What is the major
concern connected with the use of these tools?
Data warehouses are huge databases that store current and historical data extracted from
various operational systems and consolidated for management reporting and analysis. A
data mart is a small data warehouse containing only a portion of the organization’s data for a
specified function or population of users. Datamining is the manipulation and analysis of
large pools of data to find patterns and rules that can be used to guide decision making and
predict future behavior. The major concern connected with the use of these tools involves
privacy concerns—should companies be allowed to collect such detailed information about
individuals and their behavior?