Review Questions Chapter 7

1. It is easier to organize data and retrieve it when there is little or no dependence

between programs and data. Why is there more dependence in a file approach and less
in the database approach?
There is more dependence in a file approach and less in the database approach because a file
approach has no mechanism for tagging, retrieving, and manipulating data, as database
approach does have this mechanism and the data pieces are organized about entities.
2. Spreadsheets have become quite powerful for data management. What can be done
with database management systems that cannot be done with spreadsheet
applications? Give several examples.
Database management systems does all the work, including structuring files, storing data, and
linking records. A file itself is a database and while a database itself is a collection of several
related files, the program used to build databases, populate them with data and manipulate the
data. An example of this is Census.gov which is a database management system that allows
users to find demographic information by only entering the area zip code.
3. What is the difference between a database and database management system?
The difference between a database and a database management system is that a database is a
structured set of data held in a computer, especially one that is accessible in various ways,
while a database management system does all the work, including structuring files, storing
data, and linking records.
4. DBMSs are usually bundled with powerful programming language modules. Why?
DBMSs are usually bundled with powerful programming language modules because
programmers can use the module to develop applications that facilitate queries and produce
predesigned reports.
5. DBMSs are a component of every enterprise application, such as a supply chain
management system. Why?
DBMSs are a component of every enterprise application, such as a supply chain management
system as it is currently on the market to accommodate the relational model. It is a clear idea of
the different entities and how they can relate with one another and it is an easy way to keep
track of business services done with customers.
6. What are the advantages and disadvantages of object-oriented databases?
The advantages of object-oriented database are that it gives quick updates of data sets and the
relationships among them and the reduction of data redundancy, while the disadvantages
includes the dependence between applications and the data wrapped together, changing the
structures of tables in a relational database does not require changes in applications that use
the data in those tables. It also limits the ability to enter ad hoc queries in an ODB that is to
enter queries at will.
7. What is the relationship between a website’s local search engines and online databases?
The relationship between a website’s local search engines and online databases is so it is
accessible to people not only for browsing appealing web pages but to search and find useful
information. The web would be useless if the databases online are not accessible.
8. When constructing a database, the designer must know what types of relationships exist
between records in different data sets, such as one-to-many or many-to-many. Give
three examples for each of these relationships.
One-to-many relationship is created when a group of employees belong to only one
department. All would have the same department number as a foreign key in their records, and
none will have more than one department key. It is as one department is linked to many
employees. An example of one-to-many relationship is a single order that has many items on
that order, a category that has many sub-categories, house address with multiple people living
in it (one address but more than one person for that address). A many-to-many relationship can
be maintained, for instance, a student might have many professors. They can be kept track by
using their student and professor ID’s. Examples of many-to-many relationship includes
customer-product relationship (each customer purchasing many products and many products
to be purchased by many customers), doctor-patient relationship (multiple doctors for a patient
and multiple patients for a doctor), and employees-task relationship (each employee working
on multiple tasks and multiple tasks being done by multiple employees.
9. Give an example of a one-to-one relationship in a relational database.
An example of a one-to-one relationship in a relational database is just like being in a
relationship with a person, both you and your spouse have only one partner.
10. What is SQL? in which database mode does it operate? Why is it so popular?
SQL stands for Structured Query Language, and it has become the query language of choice for
many developers of relational DBMSs. SQL is an international standard and is provided with
most relational database management programs. it is so popular because of its easy-to-
remember intuitive commands.
11. What is a data warehouse? How is it different from a transactional database?
Data warehouse is a large, typically relational, database that supports management decision
making. It differs from a transactional database as transactional database is copied into the
data warehouse, which is a separate data repository, it does not update with daily transactions
such as sales, billing, cash receipts, and returns.
12. Why is it not advisable to query data from transactional databases for executive
decision making the same way you do data warehouse?
It is not advisable to query data from transactional database for executive decision making the
same way data warehouse is done because transactional database contains current data
information, which is disposed of after some time and the data in data warehouse is
accumulated and might reflect many years of business activates.
13. What are the phases of adding data to a data warehouse?
The phases of adding data to a data warehouse is:
 The extraction phase: the builders create the files from transactional databases and save
them on the server that holds the data warehouse
 The transformation phase: specialist “cleanse” the data and modify it into a form that
allows insertion into the data warehouse
 The loading phase: the specialist transfer the transformed files to the data warehouse
14. What does it mean to cleanse data before it is stored in a data warehouse?
To “cleanse” the data means to modify the data into a form that allows insertion into the data
warehouse such as to check for spelling errors and make sure the data are consistent.
15. What are data marts? How do they differ from data warehouse?
Data marts are smaller collections of data that focus on a specific subject or department. They
differ from data warehouses as data marts are smaller than data warehouses.