Homework answers / question archive / Chapter 7: Databases and Data Warehouses   TRUE/FALSE        1)   The impact of database technology on business can be easily overstated

Chapter 7: Databases and Data Warehouses   TRUE/FALSE        1)   The impact of database technology on business can be easily overstated

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TRUE/FALSE

 

     1)   The impact of database technology on business can be easily overstated.

 

 

     2.   Inaccuracies hurt data integrity.

 

 

     3.   Multiple characters make up a record.

 

 

     4.   A database itself is a collection of several related files, but DBMSs do all the work—structuring files, storing data, and linking records.

 

 

     5.   Data is accessed in a database by sending messages called “protocols,” which request data from specific records and/or fields and direct the computer to display the results.

 

 

     6.   To retrieve records from a relational database, or to sort them, you must use a key.

 

     7.   Sometimes a key is composed of several records so that their combination provides a unique key.

 

     8.   Usually, a table in a relational database must have a primary key, and most relational DBMSs enforce this rule.

 

     9.   Object-oriented databases (ODBs) do not store records, but data objects, which is an advantage for quick updates of data sets and the relationships among them.

 

 

   10.   One of the most useful manipulations of object-oriented databases (ODBs) is the creation of a new table from two or more other tables.

 

   11.   A schema describes the structure of the database being designed: the names and types of fields in each record type and the general relationships among different sets of records or files.

 

   12.   The conceptual blueprint of the database is called an entity relationship diagram (ERD).

 

   13.   From a technical point of view, online databases that are used with Web browsers are different from other databases.

 

   14.   A data warehouse is a large, typically relational, database that supports management decision making.

 

   15.   The larger the data warehouse, the larger the storage capacity, the greater the memory, and the greater the processing power of the computers that are needed.

 

   16.   There are two phases involved in building a data warehouse from transactional data: extraction and transforming.

 

   17.   Once the data warehouse is in operation, much of the ETL activity can be automated.

 

MULTIPLE CHOICE

 

     1.   There are two overall approaches to maintaining data: the traditional file approach—which has no mechanism for tagging, retrieving, and manipulating data—and the ____, which does have this mechanism.

a.	database approach	c.	datafile approach
b.	data approach	d.	indexed file approach

 

 

 

     2.   The very fact that manipulation of the data requires a programmer is probably the greatest disadvantage of the ____.

a.	information file approach	c.	database approach
b.	file approach	d.	indexed file approach

 

 

 

     3.   Often, the traditional file approach to storing data leads to low ____.

a.	data readability	c.	data integrity
b.	data flexibility	d.	data capacity

 

 

 

     4.   In the database approach, data pieces are organized about ____.

a.	indexes	c.	programs
b.	characters	d.	entities

 

 

 

     5.   A collection of related records, such as all the records of a college’s students, is called a(n) ____.

a.	field	c.	item
b.	character	d.	file

 

 

 

     6.   Databases are stored on and processed from ____ storage devices, such as magnetic disks or DVDs.

a.	internal access	c.	direct access
b.	sequential access	d.	main access

 

 

 

     7.   A ____ is the general logical structure in which records are stored within a database and the method used to establish relationships among the records.

a.	database relationship	c.	database list
b.	database model	d.	database catalog

 

 

 

     8.   To design a(n) ____, you need a clear idea of the different entities and how they relate.

a.	relational database	c.	model database
b.	file database	d.	object database

 

 

 

     9.   A(n) ____ is unique if the value (content) in that field appears only in one record.

a.	entity	c.	object
b.	key	d.	item

 

 

 

   10.   A ____ is the field by which records in a table are uniquely identified.

a.	secondary key	c.	primary key
b.	composite key	d.	main key

 

 

 

   11.   To link records from one table with records of another table, the tables must have at least one field in common, and that field must be a ____ field for one of the tables.

a.	composite key	c.	foreign key
b.	main key	d.	primary key

 

 

 

   12.   A ____ can be maintained, for instance, for professors and students in a college database.

a.	one-to-many relationship	c.	composite relationship
b.	foreign relationship	d.	many-to-many relationship

 

 

 

   13.   The combined storage of both data and the procedures that manipulate them is referred to as ____.

a.	compression	c.	encapsulation
b.	packaging	d.	zipping

 

 

 

   14.   A(n) ____ is created “on the fly” as a result of a query and exists only for the duration the user wishes to view it or to create a paper report from it.

a.	join table	c.	object table
b.	two-way table	d.	entity table

 

 

 

   15.   When building a new database, users must first build a schema (from the Greek word for “____”).

a.	plan	c.	task
b.	job	d.	work

 

 

 

   16.   Many ____ also allow a builder to positively indicate when a field is not unique, meaning that the value in that field might be the same for more than one record.

a.	languages	c.	models
b.	DBMSs	d.	structures

 

 

 

   17.   ____ should first be done to decide which data should be collected and how it should be organized.

a.	Report modeling	c.	Object structuring
b.	Data structuring	d.	Data modeling

 

 

 

   18.   Effective ____ and design of each database involves the creation of a conceptual blueprint of the database.

a.	file modeling	c.	data modeling
b.	file structuring	d.	data relating

 

 

 

   19.   All relationships and the various needs for ____ must be taken into account when designing the database.

a.	enquiries	c.	communications
b.	programs	d.	reports

 

 

 

   20.   Many organizations have found that if they accumulate ____, they can use it for important management decisions, such as researching market trends or tracking down fraud.

a.	transaction indexes	c.	field tables
b.	field indexes	d.	transaction data

 

 

 

   21.   ____ do not replace transactional databases, which are updated with daily transactions such as sales, billing, cash receipts, and returns.

a.	Data houses	c.	Data boxes
b.	Data warehouses	d.	Relational databases

 

 

 

   22.   While a transactional database contains current data, which is disposed of after some time, the data in ____ is accumulated and might reflect many years of business activities.

a.	data warehouses	c.	information bases
b.	data carts	d.	information repositories

 

 

   23.   If ____ need to be used as one large data warehouse, special software tools can unify them and make them appear as one large data warehouse.

a.	data marts	c.	information marts
b.	data carts	d.	information repositories

 

 

 

   24.   When management decides to build a ____, the IT staff must carefully consider the hardware, software, and data involved in the effort.

a.	network	c.	database network
b.	data warehouse	d.	data house

 

 

 

   25.   Because of capacity needs, organizations often choose ____ to store and manage data warehouses.

a.	midrange servers
b.	high speed networks
c.	mainframe computers with multiple CPUs
d.	workstations

 

 

 

   26.   To uncover the valuable information contained in their data, organizations must use software that can effectively “____” data warehouses.

a.	house	c.	merge
b.	cement	d.	mine

 

 

 

   27.   The designers of data warehouses must keep in mind ____: the ability of the data warehouse to grow as the amount of the data and the processing needs grow.

a.	flexibility	c.	capacity
b.	reliability	d.	scalability

 

 

 

   28.   In the ____ phase of transferring data from a transactional database to a data warehouse, the builders create the files from transactional databases and save them on the server that will hold the data warehouse.

a.	loading	c.	extraction
b.	transformation	d.	injection

 

 

 

   29.   In the ____ phase of transferring data from a transactional database to a data warehouse, specialists “cleanse” the data and modify it into a form that allows insertion into the data warehouse.

a.	extraction	c.	injection
b.	transformation	d.	loading

 

 

COMPLETION

 

     1.   If your last and first name, as well as address and other details appear in the files of the department where you work as well as in the payroll file of the Human Resource department, there is duplication of data, or ____________________.

 

 

     2.   A(n) ____________________ is any object about which an organization chooses to collect data.

 

 

     3.   A(n) ____________________ is one piece of information about an entity, such as the last name or first name of a student, or the student’s street address.

 

 

     4.   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 is called a(n) ____________________.

 

     5.   The ability to limit users’ views to only specific columns or records gives the ____________________ another advantage: the ability to implement security measures.

 

 

     6.   The relational model consists of ____________________.

 

 

     7.   The inclusion of foreign keys to create join tables might cause considerable ____________________.

 

     8.   A unique key can serve as a(n) ____________________.

 

     9.   For some business needs you must use a(n) ____________________, a combination of two or more fields that together serve as a primary key, because it is impractical to use a single field as a primary key.

 

   10.   The ability in object-oriented structures to create a new object automatically by replicating all or some of the characteristics of a previously developed object is called ____________________.

 

   11.   The ____________________ uses the object-oriented approach to maintaining records.

 

   12.   A(n) ____________________ creates a temporary table that is a subset of the original table or tables.

 

   13.   ____________________ has become the query language of choice for many developers of relational DBMSs.

 

   14.   The description of each table structure and types of fields become part of a(n) ____________________, which is a repository of information about the data and their organization.

 

 

   15.   Analyzing an organization’s data and identifying the relationships among the data is called ____________________.

 

   16.   The only way for organizations to conduct some Web-based businesses is to give people outside the organizations access to their ____________________.

 

   17.   Organizations often organize their data warehouse as a collection of ____________________, smaller collections of data that focus on a particular subject or department.

 

   18.   Unlike ____________________, transactional databases are usually not suitable for business analysis because they contain only current, not historical, data.

 

 

   19.   In the ____________________ phase of transferring data from a transactional database to a data warehouse, the specialists transfer transformed files to the data warehouse.

 

 

ESSAY

 

     1.   Explain the impact of databases on businesses.

 

     2.   Discuss the security issues concerning databases.

 

 

     3.   What are the main features of maintenance of a relational database?

 

 

     4.   What are the advantages to integrating SQL in a DBMS?

 

 

     5.   What does metadata include?