Download ) DATABASE DESIGN (H4

IMIS HIGHER DIPLOMA QUALIFICATIONS
DATABASE DESIGN
(H4)
Thursday 4th June 2015 10:00hrs – 13:00hrs
DURATION: 3 HOURS
Candidates should answer ALL the questions in Part A and THREE of the five
questions in Part B. Part A carries 40% of the marks available and Part B
carries 60%. Candidates should allocate their time accordingly.
No reference material of any kind may be taken into the examination.
[Turn over]
© Institute for the Management of Information Systems Page 1 of 5
PART A. Answer ALL questions in this section
Question A1
The first stage in creating a Data Warehouse is Extraction. Describe this extraction
process including some of the potential problems that need to be addressed.
(5 marks)
Question A2
Explain the term Fragmentation Transparency in the context of a Distributed
Database Management System.
(5 marks)
Question A3
List in order the stages in parsing a SQL query that a query optimiser would carry
out.
(5 marks)
Question A4
Explain the difference between a conceptual data model and a logical data model.
.
(5 marks)
Question A5
A major advantage of database systems over conventional file-based systems is
said to be the control of redundancy. Explain this term and why it is an advantage.
(5 marks)
Question A6
Explain, with examples, the difference between Data Manipulation commands and
Data Definition commands in Structured Query Language (SQL)
(5 marks)
Question A7
Discuss ways in which a commercial bank could make use of data mining (5 marks)
Question A8
NULL has a specific significance in Structured Query Language (SQL). Explain its
function and the use of NOT NULL in data definition with a suitable example.
(5 marks)
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PART B. Answer any THREE of the following FIVE questions.
Question B9
Use the following tables to answer the questions below
STUDENT table
Surname Forename
Sidney
Souza
Henry
Hoover
James
Kazembe
Jordan
Sakala
Eric
Mphande
Florence
Muamba
Vera
Amiobe
Gertrude
Harawa
Module
H4
H3
H4
H4
H3
H2
H2
H3
Mark
65
45
40
56
75
49
22
79
EXAM table
Exam code Exam name
H1
Project Management
H2
Advanced mathematics
H3
Systems and Networks
H4
Database Fundamentals
H5
Professional Issues
a.
Write a SQL statement to produce a list of all the records in the STUDENT
table
(3 marks)
b.
Write a SQL statement to produce the surname, forename and mark of all
students who took H2
(4 marks)
c.
Write a SQL statement to produce a list of surnames of all students who
scored less than 50% in any exam
(4 marks)
d.
Write a SQL statement to produce a list of all the student surnames and the
examination name that each has taken
(5 marks)
e.
It has been decided that the examiner’s surname needs to be added to the
EXAM table, thus
EXAM table
Module
Exam name
Examiner
H1
Project Management
Smith
H2
Advanced mathematics
Walters
H3
Systems and Networks
Tchana
H4
Database Fundamentals Jones
H5
Professional Issues
Doyle
Write a SQL statement to make this change to the table structure
(4 marks)
(Total 20 marks)
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Question B10
a.
Define and explain the meaning of the word “transaction” in the context of
database interactions
(4 marks)
b.
Haerder and Reuter (1983) used the acronym ACID to define four
fundamental properties of all transactions. Describe these four properties
using examples to aid your explanation.
(16 marks)
(Total 20 marks)
Question B11
Test Beds is a company that performs various tests on products. The table below
shows the planned testing of three products.
T#
T1
TName
Thermal
test
TDate
1/6/15
TLoc
London
S#
S1
SSName SFName SW# SWName SWSize Fee
James
David
SW1 Focus
2GB
4000
T2
Stress Test
4/8/15
New
York
S2
Edwards
T3
Acceptance 8/9/15
Test
Paris
S1
James
Peter
SW2 Slant
SW1 Focus
1GB
2GB
3000
4500
David
SW3 Lift
SW1 Focus
5GB
2GB
2500
5000
SW2 Slant
SW3 Lift
1GB
5GB
4000
3500
T# - Test number
TName – Test name
TDate – Test Start Date
TLoc – Test Location
S# - Staff number for staff member conducting the test
SSName – Surname of staff member
SFName – Forename of staff member
SW# - Software module needed for the test, a unique identifier
SWName – Software module name
SWsize – Size of software module
Fee – Fee for use of that module on that project
Using this data explain the transformation into first, second and third normal form
(Total 20 marks)
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Question B12
a.
Explain with the use of diagrams the difference between a Distributed
Database Management System, Distributed Processing and a Parallel
Database Management System
(16 marks)
b.
Briefly describe TWO potential advantages of a Distributed Database
Management System
(4 marks)
(Total 20 marks)
Question B13
You are a database designer who has been called in to investigate how a database
system might be developed. Your initial study can be divided into the following four
categories. Describe what each of these involves
a)
Analyse the company situation
(5 marks)
b)
Define problems and constraints
(5 marks)
c)
Define objectives
(5 marks)
d)
Define scope and boundaries
(5 marks)
(Total 20 marks)
.
END OF EXAMINATION
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