Databases and Data Warehouses: Concepts, Security, and Data Models

What does OLTP support?

Gathering and processing transaction information and updating existing information.

What are the problems with traditional file processing?

Issues include data redundancy, inconsistency, lack of flexibility, poor security, and lack of data sharing.

What is the disadvantage of maintaining data accuracy in distributed databases?

It can be challenging to ensure all copies of data remain consistent across multiple locations.

What is the risk of hackers accessing personal information?

It can lead to identity theft.

How many medical claims does Medicaid in New York process each year?

More than 200 million medical claims.

What are OLTP and OLAP?

OLTP is online transaction processing; OLAP is online analytical processing.

What type of database supports OLTP?

Operational database.

What is a field or data item?

An attribute (characteristic or quality) of an entity.

What is a database?

An organizational repository of information that can include personal data.

What is program-data dependence?

The coupling of data stored in files with specific programs required to update and maintain those files.

What is the data hierarchy?

The organization of data from bits and bytes to fields, records, files, and databases.

What is data redundancy?

The presence of duplicate data in multiple data files.

What is the advantage of distributed databases?

They allow for improved database performance and local control of data.

What is the purpose of the Next Generation Identification System developed by the FBI?

To create the world's largest crime-fighting computer database of biometric data, including fingerprints and facial images.

What is the purpose of a database user?

To develop database applications for a business or organization.

What is the size of the IRS accounts receivable table?

1 billion rows.

How many attributes are associated with one hard drive at Western Digital?

1,000 attributes.

What is a data entity?

A generalized class of people, places, or things for which data is collected, stored, and maintained.

What is a file in database terminology?

A group of records of the same type.

What is a record in database terminology?

A group of related fields.

What is a file or table in a database?

A group of related records.

What is a record in a database?

A grouping of all the fields used to describe the attributes of an entity.

What is a foreign key?

A primary key from one table that acts as a reference in another table to establish a relationship.

What is a character in the context of databases?

A single alphabetic, numeric, or other symbol.

What is a data warehouse?

A special form of database that supports decision making and only OLAP.

What is a data item?

A specific value of an attribute.

What is metadata in the context of databases?

Data that describes data, making databases easy to use, including field names, data types, and descriptions.

What are external databases?

Databases available for a fee from commercial online services or free from the Web, such as bibliographic and statistical databases.

What are operational databases?

Databases that store detailed data needed to support business processes and operations, also known as transaction databases.

What does 3M track in their data warehouse?

500,000 finished goods, 300,000 order-related items per day, and over 1 million customer account numbers.

How many bits are in a byte?

8 bits.

What is the size of the Medicaid database in New York?

850 million claims taking up 4 Terabytes.

What is the smallest unit of data in computing?

A bit, which can be either 1 or 0.

What is an attribute in database terms?

A characteristic of an entity.

What is a primary key?

A column that identifies a unique row in a table, such as the Student Number in the Student Table.

What is a hypermedia database?

A database containing hyperlinked pages of multimedia, rather than interrelated data records.

What is a distributed database?

A database stored on servers at multiple locations, improving performance and allowing local control of data.

What is a relational database?

A database that carries data in the form of tables and uses foreign keys to represent relationships.

What is the order of data measurement from smallest to largest?

Bit, Byte, Kilobyte (KB), Megabyte (MB), Gigabyte (GB), Terabyte (TB), Petabyte (PB).

How are bytes organized in a database?

Bytes are grouped into columns (fields) and rows (records).

What is the hierarchy of data elements from smallest to largest?

Character, Field, Record, File, Database.

What is business intelligence (BI)?

Knowledge about customers, competitors, business partners, environment, and internal operations that enables effective decision making.

What does OLAP support?

Manipulation of information to support decision making.

What is data inconsistency?

When the same attribute may have different values in different data files.