Ch 5
You have dinner with your family and tell them that you have taken BCIS. Your mother tells you that she is proud of you and that now you can help her get her database of recipes set up better because, as it has gotten larger, it seems to have gotten more difficult to use. She shows you her database, and you realize that she is using a spreadsheet. What should you tell her?
"I'll show you how to set up a simple database with one table called "Recipes." You'll be able to manage it and run simple queries on it to find specific recipes very quickly and easily. All you need is some rudimentary knowledge of Access to get the job done."
You notice that a developer has added a new column called "Response?" to your departmental database. You also notice that the column has the data type Yes/No. This means that the data field can contain only ________.
"Yes" or "No"
What is the difference between a database application and a database application program?
A database application includes forms, reports, queries, and database application programs.
What is a database?
A database is a self-describing collection of integrated records.
Which of the following best describes a row in a database?
A group of columns
Which of the following is an example of a database?
A professor using Microsoft Access to keep track of student grades and contacts
Which of the following best describes a field?
An attribute of an entity that can contain numeric data or text, or a combination of the two
Which of the following is NOT one of functions of a DBMS?
Create a web home page for the database.
What is the purpose of a database?
Databases help people keep track of things.
You were just hired by a very large automobile sales company with more than 15 sales lots spread around a rapidly growing metropolitan area. At a meeting with the sales force, you encounter a general attitude that the salespeople don't want to share their data with anybody. What do you tell them?
If all of the salespeople would put their customer lists in the database, they would be able monitor customer loyalty because they could see if their customers have gone to a different sales lot shopping for lower prices with a different salesperson. By using the notes posted in the database, they would be able to prepare for a first-time meeting with a customer by reading up on the customer's preferences. As a general rule, more sales are made at dealerships that use databases than those that don't.
Which of the following is a distinguishing feature of Access as compared to Excel?
It can see how data may be connected to one another.
What exactly is a database?
It is a collection of data that is stored on a computer.
Which of the following statements best describes a record?
It is a means to represent an entity, which might be a person, a product, or some other "thing" that has meaning to people.
Which of the following is true of a query?
It is a request that is executed to retrieve data from a database.
Which of the following is true about a database?
It is essentially a collection of lists stored in tables.
Which of the following is true about Excel?
It is great at storing and organizing numbers.
Which of the following best describes a database?
It refers to a collection of data organized to serve many applications efficiently by centralizing the data and controlling redundant data.
You were just hired by a very large automobile sales company with more than 15 sales lots spread around a rapidly growing metropolitan area. At a meeting with the sales force, you hear the salespersons voice frustration at not knowing what makes and models of cars are available on the other lots. What do you tell them?
It sounds like each lot has its own standalone database. Because the databases have not been consolidated into one corporate inventory database, there is no convenient way to find out what cars are available or where they are.
Which of the following is an advantage of using database management software over file processing?
It's more capable of adapting to changes than file processing.
Which of the following describes the structure of a database?
Metadata
Which of the following statements about metadata is incorrect?
Metadata resides outside of the database itself, which is why it is referred to as meta-data.
Which of the following is a relational DBMS for desktop systems?
Microsoft Access
As the database administrator for your employer--a large hospital--you recently found that your database entry clerks are overwhelmed with work. Your employer requires very high accuracy and reliability in all client records. You decide that you will modify the database so that clients can access and modify their own personal information over the Web. Is this a good idea? Why/Why not?
No, because untrained clients will make far more data entry errors than your professional data-entry clerks make.
Which of the following statements BEST describes NoSQL's impact on today's relational DBMS product market?
NoSQL DBMS products will continue to grow and proliferate to meet today's data management demands, but the traditional relational DBMS market is still alive and well and will continue to be important to business users for many years to come.
__________ are software systems that support very high transaction rates, processing relatively simple data structures, replicated on many servers in the cloud.
NoSQL database management systems
Which of the following statements BEST describes a NoSQL DBMS?
NoSQL is a generic term for a DBMS that does not rely on the relational model, but instead leverages advances in data storage and computer processing technologies to meet today's data management requirements such as nonstructured data objects (documents, multimedia, and so on) and very large data sets.
Which of the following statements is true about keys that reside in tables?
Primary keys cannot be duplicated in a table.
Which of the following is NOT a valid activity of database administration performed by a DBMS?
Running a query to answer a question
__________ is the primary key in the above table.
STU_ID
Which of the following is the foreign key in the above tables?
STU_ID in Table B
What are the four basic applications that DBMS systems offer?
Services to read, insert, modify, and delete data
Which of the following best describes NoSQL database management systems?
Software systems that support very high transaction rates, processing relatively simple data structures, replicated on many servers in the cloud
Which of the following is an international standard language used for processing a database?
Structured Query Language (SQL)
Which of the following is NOT one of the four elements of a database application?
The DBMS
It is said that a DBMS and a database are not the same thing. Which of the following statements is the reasons this is true?
The DBMS is a software package that you would use to make the database with.
In a database of telephone customers in a large city, which would be a logical primary key?
The account number for each customer
Jennifer has to order 350 light boxes for a special event at her company. She logs onto the main Web site of Light Works Inc., an LED manufacturing company, to place the order. While accessing the Web site, Jennifer invokes an application on lightworks.com that reads the database to find that there are 400 light boxes available for purchase. While Jennifer contemplates whether to buy all 400 light boxes, another user, Tom, accesses the same Web site, places the 400 light boxes in his shopping cart, and checks out. Finally, Jennifer also decides to purchase all 400 light boxes and checks out. Which of the following problems encountered during multi-user database processing has been exemplified in this scenario?
The lost-update problem
Which of the following statements is true of relational database management systems?
They can be used to combine tables to deliver data only if two tables share a common data element.
Which of the following is true of reports?
They can be used to compute values as they present data.
Which of the following is the primary purpose of using a database?
To keep track of data
Which of the following is NOT a component of a database?
Web interfaces
A team of developers has approached your department manager and told her that they can create a new DBMS that could replace the existing system and would be much more efficient. In their specifications they mention that their DBMS applications would include services to read, write, and delete data. The manager asks you what you think about the proposal. What should you tell her?
You should tell her that the proposal and probably the DBMS is a bad idea because the design is incomplete.
A database management system differs from a traditional file system in that a database management system __________.
can centralize data
The value of a database for a company with a very high visit rate by its customers is in its ________.
capability to quickly and accurately provide information regarding which customers fit specific profiles and then provide multiple ways to market services tailored to customers' needs
In a database, bytes are grouped into __________.
columns
You are the database administrator for a large suite of 15 family counselors. One of your workers has just informed you that she believes that another worker has copied the database onto his flash drive and has been reading the diagnostic notes for the clients. Some of the clients are high-profile public figures whose reputations could be ruined if it became public knowledge that they had sought professional counseling for family issues. You decide that you should ________.
contact that person immediately and get that flash drive
In general terms, metadata are ________.
data that describe data
As the head of the DBMS administration team, you recognize that when you receive requests for changes to be made to the database, you should forward those requests to the group in charge of ________.
database adaptation
A __________ is a collection of forms, reports, queries, and programs that process a database.
database application
Your department has a database that is extremely important to the life and success of your company. Like most other companies with important databases, your company ________.
dedicated one or more employees to the role of database administration
The columns in a database are also called ________.
fields
The DBMS provides for ________ processing operations.
four
Every table in a database must have a ________, which is a column or group of columns that identifies a unique record in the table.
key
As the head of the DBMS administration team, you recognize that when you receive requests to delete users and user groups from the database and to ensure that the security system is working, you should forward those requests to the group in charge of ________.
operations
Rows in a database are also called ________.
records
Databases that carry their data in the form of tables and that represent relationships using foreign keys are called ________.
relational databases
Which of the following refers to the element that enables a database to see how data are connected to one another?
relationships
Your recent promotion at the fire department has made you responsible for their database. You discover that some of the metadata accessible from the SQL server makes it possible for hackers to find out specific information about each fire and the names and addresses of victims. You are concerned that some victims may be the targets of unscrupulous con artists looking to take advantage of them. You decide to ________.
there may be a number of minor actions that you should take, but the major action would be to review the security settings for the database and the server and ensure that they will prevent hackers from unauthorized access
Members of your church choir have asked you to convert the old spreadsheet records of music and songbooks into a searchable database. You should probably ________.
use the export function for the spreadsheet and export it into a database file that you can open and edit with your database application
As the head of the DBMS department, you attend a meeting with company managers who are known for their tolerance for the changes in technology in their company. One of them has heard that NoSQL has helped some leading companies to be very successful. He suggests that your department, and the company, adopt NoSQL. You recommend against it and explain that ________.
with today's features, NoSQL products are very technical and can be used only by those with a deep background in computer science