Database Management System

Model questions:

1. What does DBMS stand for? (DBMS stands for Database Management System.)
2. What is the main purpose of a Database Management System (DBMS)? (The main
purpose of a DBMS is to efficiently store, manage, retrieve, and manipulate data in a
structured way.)
3. What is a data model in the context of DBMS? (A data model in DBMS defines how data
is structured, organized, and related within a database system.)
4. Give an example of a commonly used data model in DBMS. (One commonly used data
model is the relational data model, which organizes data into tables with rows and
columns.)
5. What are the two main types of database languages?( The two main types of database
languages are Data Definition Language (DDL) and Data Manipulation Language
(DML).)
6. What is the role of a Database Administrator (DBA)?( A DBA is responsible for
managing and maintaining the database system, including security, performance, and
backup procedures.)
7. In the context of data models, what does "schema" refer to? (A schema defines the
structure and organization of data in a database.)
8. Who is responsible for ensuring the security and integrity of a database system? (A
Database Administrator (DBA) is responsible for database security and integrity.)
9. Define "end users" in the context of a database system. (End users are individuals who
interact with a database to retrieve or input data.)
10. What does SQL stand for, and what is its primary purpose?( SQL stands for Structured
Query Language, and its primary purpose is to manage and query relational databases.)
11. In the Three Schema architecture of a DBMS, what is the "External Schema" responsible
for?( The External Schema defines how individual users or applications view the data.)
12. How does the Three Schema architecture promote data independence in a DBMS?( It
separates the user view (External Schema) from the logical view (Conceptual Schema)
and the physical view (Internal Schema), allowing changes in one layer without affecting
the others.)
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13. What is the primary need for an Entity-Relationship (E-R) model in database design?
( The E-R model is used to represent and define the structure of a database system by
identifying entities, their attributes, and their relationships.)
14. What is the purpose of mapping constraints in database design?( Mapping constraints
specify how entities and their attributes are mapped to the tables and columns of a
relational database.)
15. What does an E-R diagram visually represent?( An E-R diagram visually represents the
entities, attributes, and relationships in a database system.)
16. What is generalization in the context of the E-R model?( Generalization is the process of
defining a superclass to represent common attributes and relationships among multiple
subclasses.)
17. What is specialization in the context of the E-R model?( Specialization is the process of
creating subclasses to represent unique attributes and relationships for specific entity
types.)
18. What is aggregation in E-R modeling?( Aggregation is a relationship type that represents
a "whole-part" relationship between entities, where one entity contains or is composed of
other entities.)
19. What is a strong entity in the E-R model?( A strong entity is an entity that can be
uniquely identified by its attributes, and it does not depend on any other entity for
identification.)
20. What is a weak entity in the E-R model?( A weak entity is an entity that does not have a
primary key attribute on its own and relies on a related strong entity for identification.)
21. How do you represent a many-to-many relationship in an E-R diagram?( A many-to-
many relationship is represented using a diamond shape connecting the related entities.)
22. What is a composite attribute in the E-R model?( A composite attribute is an attribute that
can be divided into smaller, meaningful sub-attributes with independent meanings.)
23. What is a derived attribute in the E-R model?( A derived attribute is an attribute whose
value can be calculated or derived from other attributes in the database.)
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24. What does DDL stand for?( Data Definition Language.)
25. What is the basic structure of a DML (Data Manipulation Language) statement?( DML
statements typically consist of keywords like SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and
DELETE, followed by table names and optional conditions.)
26. What does DCL stand for in the context of database management?( Data Control
Language.)
27. What are set operations in SQL used for?( Set operations (e.g., UNION, INTERSECT,
EXCEPT) are used to combine or compare the results of two or more SELECT queries.)
28. Give an example of an aggregate function in SQL.( Example: SUM, MAX, MIN,
COUNT, AVG)
29. How are NULL values represented in a database?( NULL values represent missing or
unknown data in a database.)
30. What is referential integrity constraint in a relational database?( It ensures that
relationships between tables are maintained, typically by enforcing foreign key
constraints.)
31. What is the primary purpose of database views?( Views provide a virtual representation
of data from one or more tables and simplify data access.)
32. What is the purpose of cursors in database management?( Cursors are used to traverse
through the result set of a query one row at a time, allowing for more complex data
manipulation.)
33. What triggers the execution of a database trigger?( Database triggers are executed
automatically in response to specific database events, such as INSERT, UPDATE, or
DELETE operations.)
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34. In a relational database, what is a candidate key?( A candidate key is a minimal set of
attributes that can uniquely identify a tuple (row) in a relation.)
35. What is the closure set of attributes in the context of functional dependencies?( The
closure set of attributes is the set of attributes that can be functionally determined from a
given set of attributes using a set of functional dependencies.)
36. Define functional dependency in a relational database.( Functional dependency is a
relationship between two sets of attributes, where the value of one set of attributes
uniquely determines the value of another set.)
37. What is the purpose of normalization in database design?( The purpose of normalization
is to eliminate data anomalies and redundancy by organizing data into separate tables
based on their functional dependencies.)
38. What is Boyce-Codd Normal Form (BCNF) in database normalization?( BCNF is a
higher level of normalization that ensures that for every non-trivial functional
dependency, the left-hand side is a superkey.)
39. What is the goal of achieving Third Normal Form (3NF) in database normalization?( The
goal of 3NF is to ensure that no non-prime attribute is transitively dependent on any
superkey.)
40. What is multivalued dependency in the context of database design?( Multivalued
dependency is a type of dependency in which one set of attributes can have multiple
independent sets of values associated with it.)
41. How does the relational model ensure data integrity?( The relational model enforces data
integrity through constraints like primary keys, foreign keys, and domain constraints.)
42. What is the purpose of the SQL JOIN operation?( The SQL JOIN operation is used to
combine rows from two or more tables based on a related column between them.)
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43. What is a primary index?( A primary index is an index structure that is typically based on
the primary key of a table and provides direct access to the data rows.)
44. What is clustering index?( A clustering index determines the physical order of data rows
in a table, often based on the order of a specific attribute, which can enhance retrieval
performance for range queries.)
45. What is a transaction in a database?( A transaction in a database is a sequence of one or
more operations that are treated as a single, atomic unit of work, ensuring data
consistency and integrity.)
46. What is a rollback in the context of transactions?( A rollback is an operation that reverses
the effects of an incomplete or failed transaction, restoring the database to its previous
state.)
47. What is concurrency control in a database system?( Concurrency control is the
management of simultaneous access to the database by multiple transactions to ensure
data consistency and integrity.)
48. What are lock-based protocols in concurrency control?( Lock-based protocols are
mechanisms used to control access to database objects by locking them to prevent
multiple transactions from modifying them simultaneously.)
49. Explain the two-phase locking protocol.( The two-phase locking protocol ensures that a
transaction first acquires all the locks it needs before it starts executing and releases them
only after it has completed, preventing conflicts.)
50. What is the purpose of a redo log in recovery management?( The redo log contains a
record of all changes made to the database and is used to replay transactions during
recovery to ensure that the database is consistent.)
51. What is the role of the undo log in recovery management?( The undo log is used to store
information about the changes made by a transaction so that, during recovery, these
changes can be undone if necessary to maintain database consistency.)
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52. a) Explain the difference between meta data and data dictionary?
b) Explain data types of a DBMS
53. a) What is 'Data Dictionary'?
b) What is Data Model? Describe different types of Data Model.
54. What is Data abstraction?
55. Write down the comparison of three models in DBMS
56. a) What do you mean by degree of a relationship?
b) What do you mean by cardinality of relationship?
c) What is ternary relationship?
57. Explain briefly about generalization and specialization.
58. Discuss the entity integrity and referential integrity constraint.
59. a) Draw a sample ERD for hospital management system.
b) Explain Aggregation with reference to ER Model.
60. a) Express division operation in terms of basic relational algebra operations.
b) Explain the difference between weak entity set and strong entity set.
61. a) Partial Key and Primary Key
b) Multi-valued attributes and Composite attributes
c) Subclasses with disjoint constraints and overlapping constraints.
62. a) Briefly explain Natural Join, left outer join, Right outer Join, Full Join.
b) What is a View?
63. a) What is the difference between Procedural DML and Non-Procedural DML?
b) What are the difference between Embedded SQL and Dynamic SQL?
64. a) What is the database cursor?
b) What is the difference between cursor and trigger?
65. What is the aggregate function in SQL? Give example of each of them.
66. "All super keys are not candidate keys but the vice-versa is true." -- Justify the
statement.
67. What are the fundamental operations in relational Algebra? Explain each operation with
example.
68. a) Define Functional Dependencies.
b) Explain Armstrong Axioms.
69. a) Define Functional Dependencies.
b) Explain Armstrong Axioms.
70. a) What is normalization?
b) Explain 1NF, 2NF and 3NF with example.
71. What is meant by canonical cover of a set of functional dependencies? Is the canonical
cover unique?
72. Discuss the advantages of centralized and distributed databases.
73. What do you mean by database independence?
74. What are the functions of Database Manager and DML pre-compiler?
75. What is mapping constraint? How does it influence the design of database?
76. List the types of privileges used in database access control.
77. Write down the comparison of three models in DBMS.
78. What is schema of DBMS? What are the types of schema? Explain them. What is sub-
schema?
79. Write notes about Database Security.
80. Write notes on Database Language
81. Write the features of network model. Compare network model and relational model.
82. Explain briefly about generalization and specialization.
83. Discuss the entity integrity and referential integrity constraint.
84. Draw a sample ERD for hospital management system.
85. Explain Aggregation with reference to ER Model.
86. State the properties of Relational Model.
87.

88. What do you mean by strong and weak entities? Describe with examples.
89.

90. What is Relationship? Explain different degrees of relationship.

91. Express division operation in terms of basic relational algebra operations.
92. What are multiple relationships?
93. What is attribute inheritance?
94. Define ER Model. What is an entity?
95. Draw an ER Diagram for a library management system.
96. Find out the candidate Keys for the following relation R.
R(A,B,C,D,E,H), F={A-->B, BC-->D, E-->C, D-->A}
97. Draw a sample ER diagram for a college administration system.
98. Design a ER diagram for Shopping Mail.
99. Briefly explain Natural Join and different types of join with an example.
100. Explain the database language with SQL command.
101. What is index?
102. What is attributes of Indexing ?
103. Write different types of index?
104. Write the advantage and disadvantage of index?
105. What are the Constraints of DBMS?
106. How constraints guarantee data accuracy in a database management system?

107. Write different types of constraint.

108. "All super keys are not candidate keys but the vice-versa is true" -- Justify the
statement.
109. What are the fundamental operations in Relational Algebra? Explain each
operation with example.
110. Write Codd's 12 Rules
111. Write difference between Tuple Relational Calculus (TRC) and Domain
Relational Calculus (DRC) .
112. What in normalization? Explain 1NF, 2NF and 3NF with example.
113. Given the relation R(A,B,C,D,E) and functional dependencies:
F={A-->BC, CD-->E, B-->D, E-->A}
Check whether
i) Decomposition R1=(A,B,C) and R2=(A,D,E) is lossless or not.
ii) Dependencies are preserving or not.
114. What is meant by canonical cover of a set of functional dependencies? is the
canonical cover unique?
115. What is transaction? Explain ACID properties of transactions
116. What is a schedule? Give an example of a serial schedule with two transactions.
117. Explain all the states of a transaction with example for each state.

118. Explain the difference between DDL, DML, and DCL in SQL.

119. What is concurrency control, and why is it important?

120. What are the advantages of DBMS?

121. What are the disadvantages of file processing systems?
122. What do you understand by query optimization?
123. What is normalization?
124. What is BCNF?
125. What is the difference between a DELETE command and Drop command?
126.