DBMS - VIVA QUESTIONS

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Question 1. What Is A Dbms?

Answer :

DBMS stands for Database Management System. A DBMS receives requests from
applications and translates those requests into actions on a specific database. A
DBMS processes SQL statements or uses other functionality to create process and
administer databases.

Question 2. What Is Relationship Set?

Answer :

The collection (or set) of similar relationships.

Question 3. What Is Relationship Type?

Answer :

Relationship type defines a set of associations or a relationship set among a given

set of entity types.

Question 4. What Is Degree Of Relationship Type?

Answer :

It is the number of entity type participating.

Question 5. What Is Ddl (data Definition Language)?

Answer :

A data base schema is specifies by a set of definitions expressed by a special

language called DDL.

Question 6. What Is Vdl (view Definition Language)?

Answer :

It specifies user views and their mappings to the conceptual schema.

Question 7. What Is Sdl (storage Definition Language)?

Answer :

This language is to specify the internal schema. This language may specify the
mapping between two schemas.

Question 8. What Is Data Storage - Definition Language?

Answer :
The storage structures and access methods used by database system are specified by
a set of definition in a special type of DDL called data storage-definition
language.

Question 9. What Is Dml (data Manipulation Language)?

Answer :

This language that enable user to access or manipulate data as organised by

appropriate data model.

1. Procedural DML or Low level: DML requires a user to specify what data are needed
and how to get those data.
2. Non-Procedural DML or High level: DML requires a user to specify what data are
needed without specifying how to get those data.

Question 10. What Is Dml Compiler?

Answer :

It translates DML statements in a query language into low-level instruction that

the query evaluation engine can understand.

Question 11. What Is Query Evaluation Engine?

Answer :

It executes low-level instruction generated by compiler.

Question 12. What Is Ddl Interpreter?

Answer :

It interprets DDL statements and record them in tables containing metadata.

Question 13. What Is Record-at-a-time?

Answer :

The Low level or Procedural DML can specify and retrieve each record from a set of
records. This retrieve of a record is said to be Record-at-a-time.

Question 14. What Is Set-at-a-time Or Set-oriented?

Answer :

The High level or Non-procedural DML can specify and retrieve many records in a
single DML statement. This retrieve of a record is said to be Set-at-a-time or Set-
oriented.
Question 15. What Is Relational Algebra?

Answer :

It is procedural query language. It consists of a set of operations that take one

or two relations as input and produce a new relation.

Question 16. What Is Relational Calculus?

Answer :

It is an applied predicate calculus specifically tailored for relational databases

proposed by E.F. Codd. E.g. of languages based on it are DSL ALPHA, QUEL.

Question 17. How Does Tuple-oriented Relational Calculus Differ From Domain-
oriented Relational Calculus?

Answer :

1. The tuple-oriented calculus uses a tuple variables i.e., variable whose only
permitted values are tuples of that relation. E.g. QUEL
2. The domain-oriented calculus has domain variables i.e., variables that range
over the underlying domains instead of over relation. E.g. ILL, DEDUCE.

Question 18. What Is Normalization?

Answer :

It is a process of analysing the given relation schemas based on their Functional

Dependencies (FDs) and primary key to achieve the properties

(1)Minimizing redundancy,
(2)Minimizing insertion, deletion and update anomalies.

Question 19. What Is Functional Dependency?

Answer :

A Functional dependency is denoted by X Y between two sets of attributes X and Y

that are subsets of R specifies a constraint on the possible tuple that can form a
relation state r of R. The constraint is for any two tuples ti and t2 in r if tl[XJ
= t2[Xj then they have tl[Y] = t2[Y]. This means the value of X component of a
tuple uniquely determines the value of component V.

Question 20. What Is Lossless Join Property?

Answer :
It guarantees that the spurious tuple generation does not occur with respect to
relation schemas after decomposition.

Question 21. What Is 1 Nf (normal Form)?

Answer :

The domain of attribute must include only atomic (simple, indivisible) values.

Question 22. What Is Fully Functional Dependency?

Answer :

It is based on concept of full functional dependency. A functional dependency X Y

is full functional dependency if removal of any attribute A from X means that the
dependency does not hold any more.

Question 23. What Is 2nf?

Answer :

A relation schema R is in 2NF if it is in 1NF and every non-prime attribute A in R

is fully functionally dependent on primary key.

Question 24. What Is 3nf?

Answer :

A relation schema R is in 3NF if it is in 2NF and for every FD X A either of the

following is true
1. X is a Super-key of R.
2. A is a prime attribute of R.
In other words, if every non prime attribute is non-transitively dependent on
primary key.

Question 25. What Is Bcnf (boyce-codd Normal Form)?

Answer :

A relation schema R is in BCNF if it is in 3NF and satisfls an additional

constraint that for every FD X A, X must be a candidate key.

Question 26. What Is 4nf?

Answer :

A relation schema R is said to be in 4NF if for every Multivalued dependency X Y

that holds over R, one of following is true.
1.) X is subset or equal to (or) XY = R.
2.) X is a super key.

Question 27. What Is 5nf?

Answer :

A Relation schema R is said to be 5NF if for every join dependency {R1, R2, ...,
Rn} that holds R, one the following is true 1.) Ri = R for some i.

Question 28. What Is Domain-key Normal Form?

Answer :

A relation is said to be in DKNF if all constraints and dependencies that should

hold on the the constraint can be enforced by simply enforcing the domain
constraint and key constraint on the relation.

Question 29. What Is System Catalog Or Catalog Relation? How Is Better Known As?

Answer :

A RDBMS maintains a description of all the data that it contains, information about
every relation and index that it contains. This information is stored in a
collection of relations maintained by the system called metadata. It is also called
data dictionary.

Question 30. What Is Meant By Query Optimization?

Answer :

The phase that identifies an efficient execution plan for evaluating a query that
has the least estimated cost is referred to as query optimization.

Question 31. What Is Durability In Dbms?

Answer :

Once the DBMS informs the user that a transaction has successfully completed, its
effects should persist even if the system crashes before all its changes are
reflected on disk. This property is called durability.

Question 32. What Do You Mean By Atomicity And Aggregation?

Answer :

1. Atomicity: Either all actions are carried out or none are. Users should not have
to worry about the effect of incomplete transactions. DBMS ensures this by undoing
the actions of incomplete transactions.
2. Aggregation: A concept which is used to model a relationship between a
collection of entities and relationships. It is used when we need to express a
relationship among relationships.

Question 33. What Is A Phantom Deadlock?

Answer :
In distributed deadlock detection, the delay in propagating local information might
cause the deadlock detection algorithms to identify deadlocks that do not really
exist. Such situations are called phantom deadlocks and they lead to unnecessary
aborts.

Question 34. What Is A Checkpoint And When Does It Occur?

Answer :

A Checkpoint is like a snapshot of the DBMS state. By taking checkpoints, the DBMS
can reduce the amount of work to be done during restart in the event of subsequent
crashes.

Question 35. What Are The Different Phases Of Transaction?

Answer :

Different phases are

1.) Analysis phase,
2.) Redo Phase,
3.) Undo phase.

Question 36. What Do You Mean By Flat File Database?

Answer :

It is a database in which there are no programs or user access languages. It has no

cross-file capabilities but is user-friendly and provides user-interface
management.

Question 37. What Is "transparent Dbms"?

Answer :

It is one, which keeps its Physical Structure hidden from user.

Question 38. What Is A Query?

Answer :

A query with respect to DBMS relates to user commands that are used to interact
with a data base. The query language can be classified into data definition
language and data manipulation language.

Question 39. What Do You Mean By Correlated Subquery?

Answer :

Subqueries, or nested queries, are used to bring back a set of rows to be used by
the parent query. Depending on how the subquery is written, it can be executed once
for the parent query or it can be executed once for each row returned by the parent
query. If the subquery is executed for each row of the parent, this is called a
correlated subquery.

A correlated subquery can be easily identified if it contains any references to the

parent subquery columns in its WHERE clause. Columns from the subquery cannot be
referenced anywhere else in the parent query. The following example demonstrates a
non-correlated subquery.

Example:

Select� From CUST Where �10/03/1990� IN (Select ODATE From ORDER Where CUST.CNUM =
ORDER.CNUM)

Question 40. What Are The Unary Operations In Relational Algebra?

Answer :

PROJECTION and SELECTION.

Question 41. Are The Resulting Relations Of Product And Join Operation The Same?

Answer :

No.
PRODUCT: Concatenation of every row in one relation with every row in another.
JOIN: Concatenation of rows from one relation and related rows from another.

Question 42. What Is Rdbms Kernel?

Answer :

Two important pieces of RDBMS architecture are the kernel, which is the software,
and the data dictionary, which consists of the system-level data structures used by
the kernel to manage the database You might think of an RDBMS as an operating
system (or set of subsystems), designed specifically for controlling data access;
its primary functions are storing, retrieving, and securing data. An RDBMS
maintains its own list of authorized users and their associated privileges; manages
memory caches and paging; controls locking for concurrent resource usage;
dispatches and schedules user requests; and manages space usage within its table-
space structures.

Question 43. Name The Sub-systems Of A Rdbms?

Answer :

I/O, Security, Language Processing, Process Control, Storage Management, Logging

and Recovery, Distribution Control, Transaction Control, Memory Management, Lock
Management.

Question 44. Which Part Of The Rdbms Takes Care Of The Data Dictionary? How?

Answer :

Data dictionary is a set of tables and database objects that is stored in a special
area of the database and maintained exclusively by the kernel.

Question 45. What Is The Job Of The Information Stored In Data-dictionary?

Answer :

The information in the data dictionary validates the existence of the objects,
provides access to them, and maps the actual physical storage location.
Question 46. How Do You Communicate With An Rdbms?

Answer :

You communicate with an RDBMS using Structured Query Language (SQL).

Question 47. Define Sql And State The Differences Between Sql And Other
Conventional Programming Languages?

Answer :

SQL is a nonprocedural language that is designed specifically for data access

operations on normalized relational database structures. The primary difference
between SQL and other conventional programming languages is that SQL statements
specify what data operations should be performed rather than how to perform them.

Question 48. Name The Three Major Set Of Files On Disk That Compose A Database In
Oracle?

Answer :

There are three major sets of files on disk that compose a database. All the files
are binary. These are
1.) Database files
2.) Control files
3.) Redo logs
The most important of these are the database files where the actual data resides.
The control files and the redo logs support the functioning of the architecture
itself. All three sets of files must be present, open, and available to Oracle for
any data on the database to be useable. Without these files, you cannot access the
database, and the database administrator might have to recover some or all of the
database using a backup, if there is one.

Question 49. What Is Database Trigger?

Answer :

A database trigger is a PL/SQL block that can defined to automatically execute for
insert, update, and delete statements against a table. The trigger can e defined to
execute once for the entire statement or once for every row that is inserted,
updated, or deleted. For any one table, there are twelve events for which you can
define database triggers. A database trigger can call database procedures that are
also written in PL/SQL.

Question 50. What Are Stored-procedures? And What Are The Advantages Of Using Them?

Answer :

Stored procedures are database objects that perform a user defined operation. A
stored procedure can have a set of compound SQL statements. A stored procedure
executes the SQL commands and returns the result to the client. Stored procedures
are used to reduce network traffic.

Question 51. What Is Storage Manager?

Answer :

It is a program module that provides the interface between the low-level data
stored in database, application programs and queries submitted to the system.

Question 52. What Is Buffer Manager?

Answer :

It is a program module, which is responsible for fetching data from disk storage
into main memory and deciding what data to be cache in memory.

Question 53. What Is Transaction Manager?

Answer :

It is a program module, which ensures that database, remains in a consistent state

despite system failures and concurrent transaction execution proceeds without
conflicting.

Question 54. What Is File Manager?

Answer :

It is a program module, which manages the allocation of space on disk storage and
data structure used to represent information stored on a disk.

Question 55. What Is Authorization And Integrity Manager?

Answer :

It is the program module, which tests for the satisfaction of integrity constraint
and checks the authority of user to access data.

Question 56. What Are Stand-alone Procedures?

Answer :

Procedures that are not part of a package are known as stand-alone because they
independently defined. A good example of a stand-alone procedure is one written in
a SQL*Forms application. These types of procedures are not available for reference
from other Oracle tools. Another limitation of stand-alone procedures is that they
are compiled at run time, which slows execution.

Question 57. What Are Cursors Give Different Types Of Cursors?

Answer :

PL/SQL uses cursors for all database information accesses statements. The language
supports the use two types of cursors
1.) Implicit
2.) Explicit

Question 58. What Is Cold Backup And Hot Backup (in Case Of Oracle)?

Answer :

1. Cold Backup: It is copying the three sets of files (database files, redo logs,
and control file) when the instance is shut down. This is a straight file copy,
usually from the disk directly to tape. You must shut down the instance to
guarantee a consistent copy. If a cold backup is performed, the only option
available in the event of data file loss is restoring all the flies from the latest
backup. All work performed on the database since the last backup is lost.
2. Hot Backup: Some sites (such as worldwide airline reservations systems) cannot
shut down the database while making a backup copy of the files. The cold backup is
not an available option. What is meant by Proactive, Retroactive and Simultaneous
Update. Proactive Update: The updates that are applied to database before it
becomes effective in real world. Retroactive Update: The updates that are applied
to database after it becomes effective in real world. Simultaneous Update: The
updates that are applied to database at the same time when it becomes effective in
real world.

Question 59. What Are Data And Information, And How Are They Related In A Database?

Answer :

Data is recorded facts and figures, and information is knowledge derived from data.
A database stores data in such a way that information can be created.

Question 60. What Is Enterprise Resource Planning (erp), And What Kind Of A
Database Is Used In An Erp Application?

Answer :

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is an information system used in manufacturing

companies and includes sales, inventory, production planning, purchasing and other
business functions. An ERP system typically uses a multiuser database.

Question 61. Why Is A Database Considered To Be "self-describing"?

Answer :

In addition to the users� data, a database contains a description of its own

structure. This descriptive data is called �metadata.�

Question 62. Who Is E.f. Codd, And Why Is He Significant In The Development Of
Modern Database Systems?

Answer :

While working at IBM, E.F. Codd created the relational database model. A paper he
published in 1970 presented his ideas to the world at large. His work is the
foundation for most of the DBMSs currently in use, and thus forms the basis for
database systems as we know and use them today.

Question 63. What Is Sql, And Why Is It Important?

Answer :

SQL stands for Structured Query Language, and is the most important data processing
language in use today. It is not a complete programming language like Java or C#,
but a data sublanguage used for creating and processing database data and metadata.
All DBMS products today use SQL.

Question 64. Write An Sql Select Statement To Display All The Columns Of The
Student Table But Only Those Rows Where The Grade Column Is Greater Than Or Equal
To 90?

Answer :

SELECT * FROM STUDENT WHERE Grade >= 90;

Question 65. Name And Briefly Describe The Five Sql Built-in Functions?

Answer :

COUNT: computes the number of rows in a table. SUM: totals numeric columns. AVG:
computes the average value. MAX: obtains the maximum value of a column in a table.
MIN: obtains the minimum value of a column in a table.

Question 66. Write An Sql Select Statement To Count The Number Of Rows In Student
Table And Display The Result With The Label Num Students?

Answer :

SELECT COUNT(*) AS NumStudents FROM STUDENT;

Question 67. What Is An Sql Subquery?

Answer :

An SQL subquery is a means of querying two or more tables at the same time. The
subquery itself is an SQL SELECT statement contained within the WHERE clause of
another SQL SELECT statement, and separated by being enclosed in parenthesis. Some
subqueries have equivalent SQL join structures, but correlated subqueries cannot be
duplicated by a join..

Question 68. Discuss The Alternative Terminology That Is Used In The Relational
Model?

Answer :

Relations are also called tables, and sometimes by the older data processing term
files. A row is known as a tuple in the relational model, but may also be referred
to as a record. Finally, relational model attributes are known as table columns and
sometimes as fields.

Question 69. Why Are Functional Dependencies Not Equations?

Answer :

Equations deal with numerical relationships. A functional dependency deals with the
existence of a determinant relationship between attributes, regardless of whether
or not there is a numerical relationship between them. Thus, if we know that there
is no hot water every Wednesday, No-Hot-Water is functionally dependent on
Wednesday. So, if we know it is Wednesday, then we know we will have No-Hot-Water.
This is a functional dependency, but not an equation.

Question 70. What Is A Foreign Key, And What Is It Used For?

Answer :

A foreign key is used to establish relationships among relations in the relational

model. Technically, a foreign key is a column (or columns) appearing in one
relation that is (are) the primary key of another table. Although there may be
exceptions, the values in the foreign key columns usually must correspond to values
existing in the set of primary key values. This correspondence requirement is
created in a database using a referential integrity constraint on the foreign key.

Question 71. What Are Insertion And Deletion Anomalies?

Answer :

A deletion anomaly occurs when, by deleting the facts about one entity, we in
advertently delete facts about another entity; with one deletion, we lose facts
about two entities. For example, if we delete the tuple for Student 001289 from a
table, we may lose not only the fact that Student 001289 is in Pierce Hall, but
also the fact that he has $200 left in his security deposit. An insertion anomaly
happens when we encounter the restriction that we cannot insert a fact about one
entity until we have an additional fact about another entity. For example, we want
to store the fact that the security deposit for Pierce Hall is $300, but we cannot
enter this data into the Student relation until a student registers for Pierce
Hall.

Question 72. You Have Been Given A Set Of Tables With Data And Asked To Create A
New Database To Store Them. When You Examine The Data Values In The Tables, What
Are You Looking For?

Answer :

Multivalued dependencies,
Functional dependencies,
Candidate keys,
Primary keys and
Foreign keys.

Question 73. Why Do Normalized Tables Require More Complex Sql When Sql Statements
Are Used In Application Programs?

Answer :

Tables that are normalized contain data that has been distributed among the tables,
but which may need to be recombined to answer queries from an application. To
recombine the data, the programmer will have to use subqueries and/or joins. These
SQL structures are more complex to write than a simple SELECT statement.

Question 74. What Is The Inconsistent Values Problem? Include An Example Not Used
In The Text?

Answer :

The inconsistent values problem occurs when different users or data sources use
slightly different forms of the same data value. One example is where automobiles
are specified as �Ford, 2-door, Red� in one cell and �Red Ford 2-door� in another.

Question 75. Explain The Relationship Between Entity, Entity Class, And Entity
Instance?

Answer :

An entity is something that can be identified in the users� work environment,

something that the users want to track. Entities of a given type are grouped into
entity classes. An entity instance is the representation of a particular entity.

Question 76. Explain The Difference Between Attributes And Identifiers?

Answer :

Entities have attributes. Attributes are properties that describe the entity�s
characteristics. Entity instances have identifiers. Identifiers are attributes that
name, or identify, entity instances.

Question 77. Name And Describe Three Types Of Binary Relationships?

Answer :

1:1 - a single entity instance of one type is related to a single-entity instance

of another type.
1:N - a single entity instance of one type is related to many-entity instances of
another type.
M:N - many-entity instances of one type relate to many-entity instances of another
type.

Question 78. What Are The Steps For Transforming An Entity Into A Table?

Answer :

The steps are:

specify the primary key,

specify candidate keys,
specify column properties including null status, data type, default value (if any),
and data constraints (if any), and
verifying normalization.
Question 79. Define A Surrogate Key, Describe The Ideal Primary Key And Explain How
Surrogate Keys Meet This Ideal?

Answer :

The ideal primary key is short, numeric and fixed. A surrogate key is a unique,
DBMS-supplied identifier intended to be used as the primary key of a table.
Further, the DBMS will not allow the value of a surrogate key to be changed. The
values of a surrogate key have no meaning to the users and are usually hidden on
forms and reports. By design, they are short, numeric and fixed and thus meet the
definition of the ideal primary key.

Question 80. Define And Discuss Data Constraints?

Answer :

Data constraints on a column are the limits put on the values the data can have.

There are four types of data constraints:

domain constraints, which define a limited set of values for the column,
range constraints, which specify that the values must fall within a certain range,
intrarelation constraints, which define what values the column can have based on
values of other columns in the same table, and
interrelation constraints, which define values the column can have based on values
of columns in other tables.