DBMS Final Exam Chpt 5
Natural Key is _______ to end users and forms part of their _____-___-_____ business vocabulary
familiar, day, to, day
Redundancy is seldom a _______ thing in database environment
good
Specialization Hierarchy can have _____ _____ of supertype/subtype relationships
many, levels
Total Completeness-Every supertype occurrence must be a ________ of at least one subtype
member
Design Case 2: Maintaining History of Time Variant Data-Normally, existing attribute values are replaced with ______ ______ without regard to previous value
new value
Overlapping Subtypes-Contain ______-______ ________ of supertype entity set
non-unique, subset
Partial Completeness-Some supertype occurrences are _____ _________ of any subtype
not, members
Generally, data modeler uses natural identifier as _______ ______ of entity being modeled
primary, key
Some designs use redundant relationships to _______the design
simplify
Specialization is a ______-down process
top
Disjoint Subtypes-Contain a _______ _______ of the supertype entity set
unique, subset
Implementing 1:1 Relationships-In 1:1 relationship, there are two options:
• Place a foreign key in both entities (not recommended) •Place a foreign key in one of the entities
Specialization Hierarchy provides a means to do what? (3)
• Support attribute inheritance • Define the subtype discriminator • Define disjoint/overlapping constraints and complete/partial constraints
If you use surrogate key, use what?
"Unique index" and "not null" constraints
Entity Supertype
-Generic entity type related to one or more entity subtypes -Contains common characteristics
Criteria to determine the usage of Entity Supertype and Subtype
-There must be different, identifiable kinds of the entity in the user's environment -The different kinds of instances should each have one or more attributes that are unique to that kind of instance
When are composite primary keys useful? (2)
1. As identifiers of composite (aka bridge) entities 2. As identifiers of weak entities
Surrogate primary keys are help when...(3)
1. No natural key 2. Selected candidate key has embedded semantic contents 3. Selected candidate key is too long or cumbersome
Composite Key-When used as identifiers of weak entities normally used to represent what (2)
1. Real-world object that is existent-dependent on another real-world object 2. Real-world object that is represented in data model as two separate entities in strong identifying relationship
Inheritance-At implementation level, supertype and its subtype(s) maintain a __:__relationship
1:1
Inheritance-Lower-level subtypes inherit what?
All attributes and relationships from all upper-level supertypes
Inheritance-Entity subtypes inherit what?
All relationships in which supertype entity participates
Total Completeness is symbolized by what?
By a circle over a double line
Partial Completeness is symbolized by what?
By a circle over a single line
Entity Subtype
Contains unique characteristics of each entity subtype
Subtype Discriminator-Attribute in supertype entity
Determines to which entity subtype each supertype occurrence is related
Composite primary keys automatically provide what benefit?
Ensuring that there cannot be duplicate values
Subtype Discriminator-Default comparison condition for subtype discriminator attribute is what?
Equality comparison
What is most common design trap?
Fan trap
Design Case 1: Implementing 1:1 Relationships
Foreign keys work with primary keys are used to properly implement relationships in relational model
Generalization is based on what?
Grouping common characteristics and relationships of the subtypes
Specialization Hierarchy subtype has only one what?
Has only one supertype to which it is directly related
Specialization Hierarchy relationships described in terms of what?
IS-A relationship
Inheritance enables entity subtype to do what?
Inherit attributes and relationships of supertype
Entity Clustering-Considered "virtual" or "abstract" because why?
It is not actually an entity in final ERD
Composite Key-Dependent entity exists only when?
It is related to parent entity
Generalization identifies what?
More generic entity supertype from lower-level entity subtypes
Entity Clustering-Temporary entity used to represent what?
Multiple entities and relationships
Entity Clustering-"Virtual" entity type is used to represent what?
Multiple entities and relationships in ERD
A real-world identifier used to uniquely identify real world objects
Natural Key
Disjoint Subtypes are also called what?
Non-overlapping subtypes
Overlapping Subtypes-Implementation requires the use of what?
One discriminator attribute for each subtype
Identifies more specific entity subtypes from higher-level entity supertype
Specialization
If you use surrogate key, ensure what?
That candidate key of entity in question performs properly
Main concern of redundancy?
That redundant relationships remain consistent across model
Specialization Hierarchy depicts what?
The arrangement of higher-level entity supertypes and lower-level entity subtypes
Disjoint Subtypes-Implementation is based on what?
The value of the subtype discriminator attribute in the supertype
Inheritance-All entity subtypes inherit their primary key attribute from what?
Their supertype
Specialization is based on what?
Unique characteristics and relationships of the subtypes
When does fan trap occur?
When one entity is in two 1:M relationships to other entities
When do design traps occur?
When relationship is improperly or incompletely identified
When does redundancy occur?
When there are multiple relationship paths between related entities
Specialization Hierarchy subtype only exists when?
When within context of a supertype
Completeness Constraint specifies what?
Whether entity supertype occurrence must be a member of at least one subtype
Generalization is a ______-up process
bottom
Entity Clustering-Eliminate _________
consequences