DB Managment Ch9
Uploaded by
Juan Manuel Garcia NoguesDB Managment Ch9
Uploaded by
Juan Manuel Garcia NoguesDatabase Management Ch9 Garcia 1
1. What is an information system? What is its purpose?
An information system is a system that provides the conditions for data collection,
storage, and retrieval. Facilitates the transformation of data into information. And,
provides management of both data and information.
An information system is composed of hardware, software (DBMS and
applications), the database(s), procedures, and people.
Good decisions are generally based on good information. Ultimately, the purpose
of an information system is to facilitate good decision making by making relevant
and timely information available to the decision makers.
2. How do systems analysis and systems development fit into a discussion about
information systems?
Both systems analysis and systems development constitute part of the Systems
Development Life Cycle, or SDLC. Systems analysis, phase II of the SDLC,
establishes the need for and the extent of an information system by establishing
end-user requirements, evaluating the existing system, and developing a logical
systems design.
Systems development, based on the detailed systems design found in phase III of
the SDLC, yields the information system. The detailed system specifications are
established during the systems design phase, in which the designer completes the
design of all required system processes.
3. What does the acronym SDLC mean, and what does an SDLC portray?
SDLC is the acronym that is used to label the System Development Life Cycle.
The SDLC traces the history of an information system from its inception to its
obsolescence. The SDLC is composed of six phases: planning, analysis, detailed
system, design, implementation and maintenance.
4. What does the acronym DBLC mean, and what does a DBLC portray?
DBLC is the acronym that is used to label the Database Life Cycle. The DBLC
traces the history of a database system from its inception to its obsolescence. Since
the database constitutes the core of an information system, the DBLC is concurrent
to the SDLC. The DBLC is composed of six phases: initial study, design,
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implementation and loading, testing and evaluation, operation, and maintenance
and evolution.
5. Discuss the distinction between centralized and decentralized conceptual
database design.
Centralized and decentralized design constitute variations on the bottom-up and
top-down approaches we discussed in the third question presented in the
discussion focus. Basically, the centralized approach is best suited to relatively
small and simple databases that lend themselves well to a bird's-eye view of
the entire database. Such databases may be designed by a single person or by a
small and informally constituted design team. The company operations and the
scope of its problems are sufficiently limited to enable the designer(s) to perform
all of the necessary database design tasks:
1. Define the problem(s).
2. Create the conceptual design.
3. Verify the conceptual design with all user views.
4. Define all system processes and data constraints.
5. Assure that the database design will comply with all achievable end user
requirements.
In contrast, when company operations are spread across multiple operational sites
or when the database has multiple entities that are subject to complex relations, the
best approach is often based on the decentralized design.
6. What is the minimal data rule in conceptual design? Why is it important?
The minimal data rule specifies that all the data defined in the data model are
actually required to fit
present and expected future data requirements. This rule may be phrased as All
that is needed is there, and all that is there is needed.
7. Discuss the distinction between top-down and bottom-up approaches in
database design.
Top-down database design involves starting with a general overview of the system
and gradually refining the design to include more detail. Bottom-up database
design involves starting with specific details and gradually building up to a more
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general overview. Both approaches have advantages and disadvantages and the
choice between them depends on the specific needs of the organization.
8. What are business rules? Why are they important to a database designer?
Business rules are narrative descriptions of the business policies, procedures, or
principles that are derived from a detailed description of operations. Business rules
are particularly valuable to database designers, because they help define:
• Entities
• Attributes
• Relationships (1:1, 1:M, M:N, expressed through connectivities and
cardinalities)
• Constraints
To develop an accurate data model, the database designer must have a thorough
and complete understanding of the organization's data requirements. The business
rules are very important to the designer because they enable the designer to fully
understand how the business works and what role is played by data within
company operations.
9. What is the data dictionary’s function in database design?
A good data dictionary provides a precise description of the characteristics of all
the entities and attributes found within the database. The data dictionary thus
makes it easier to check for the existence of synonyms and homonyms, to check
whether all attributes exist to support required reports, to verify appropriate
relationship representations, and so on. The data dictionary's contents are both
developed and used during the six DBLC phases:
• DATABASE INITIAL STUDY
• DATABASE DESIGN
• IMPLEMENTATION AND LOADING
• TESTING AND EVALUATION
• OPERATION
• MAINTENANCE AND EVOLUTION
10. What steps are required in the development of an ER diagram?
1. Identify, analyze, and refine the business rules.
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2. Identify the main entities, using the results of Step 1.
3. Define the relationships among the entities, using the results of Steps 1 and
2.
4. Define the attributes, primary keys, and foreign keys for each of the
entities.
5. Normalize the entities. (Remember that entities are implemented as tables
in an RDBMS.)
6. Complete the initial ER diagram.
7. Have the main end users verify the model in Step 6 against the data,
information, and processing requirements.
8. Modify the ER diagram, using the results of Step 7.
11. List and briefly explain the activities involved in the verification of an ER
model.
1. Identify the ER model’s central entity.
2. Identify each module and its components.
3. Identify each module’s transaction requirements:
Internal: Updates/Inserts/Deletes/Queries/Reports
External: Module interfaces
4. Verify all processes against the ER model.
5. Make all necessary changes suggested in Step 4.
6. Repeat Steps 2−5 for all modules.
