Noorul Islam University 2008 M.Sc Software Engineering XCS 235 – DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS - Question Paper

NOORUL ISLAM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
M.Sc. Software Engineering
THIRD SEMESTER
XCS 235 – DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
Two Marks
1. describe database management systems.
A database management system is a collection of programs that enables users to
create and maintain a database.
2. State the different processes of database.
a) Defining
b) Constructing
c) Manipulating
3. elaborate the characteristics of database
a) self describing nature of the database
b) insulation ranging from programs and data and data abstraction.
c) Support for multiple views of data
d) Sharing of data and multi-user transaction processing
4. Define-metadata
The info stored in the catalog is called meta-data and it defines the
structure of the primary database.
5. describe data abstraction
The characteristics that allows program data independence and program operation
independence are called data abstraction.
6. elaborate the advantages of DBMS?
a) Controlling redundancy
b) Restricting unauthorized access
c) Providing persistent storage for program objects and data structures
d) Permitting inference and actions using rules.
7. What is data model?
A data model is a collection of concepts that can be used to define the structure
of the database, which are data types, relationships and constraints that should
hold on the data.
8. elaborate the categories of data model?
a) High level or conceptual data model
b) Low level or physical data model
c) Representational or implementational data model.
9. describe entity, attributes and relationships
Entity represent a real world object
Attribute represent property that defines an entity.
Relationship represents an interaction among the entities.
10. describe access path.
An access path is a structure that makes the search for particular database records
efficient.
11. describe database schema.
The description of a database is called the database schema
12. describe database state or snapshot?
The data in the database at a particular moment in time is called database state or
snapshot.
13. Distinguish intension and extension.
The schema is called intension and a database state is called extension of the
schema.
14. elaborate the kinds of attributes in the ER model?
a) Simple versus composite
b) Single valued versus multi-valued
c) Stored versus derived
15. elaborate composite and simple attributes?
Composite attributes can be divided into smaller subparts. Simple or atomic
attributes are not divisible.
16. elaborate stored and derived attribute?
The age attribute is called derived attribute and is stated to be derivable from the

Earning:   Approval pending.