[Ch#3] Database Design Process 70 Computer Science Part-II

Q1. Define analysis.

Ans. A process of studying the existing system is known as analysis. The analysis also
determines what should take place in the new system. It is very important activity
for the development of database system. The person responsible for the
requirements analysis is often called” Analyst”.
Q2. What is the importance of project planning?
Ans. Project planning is part of project management. Initially the project scope is
defined and the appropriate methods for completing the project are determined.
Following this step, the durations for the various tasks necessary to complete the
work are listed and grouped into a work breakdown structure. Then the necessary
resources can be estimated and costs for each activity can be allocated to each
resource, giving the total project cost.
Q3. What is data modeling?
Ans. The identification of data objects and their relationships to other data objects.
Data modeling is often the first step in database design. Designers first create a
conceptual model of how data items relate to each other. Data modeling involves
a progression from conceptual model to logical model and then to physical
schema.
Q4. Define Cardinality.
Ans. The number of entity occurrences of first entity associated with one or more
occurrence of the second entity is known as cardinality. It is expressed as one or
many e.g. a country can have many cities but a country can have only one capital.
Q5. Define Modality.
Ans. Modality defines whether the participation of an entity in a relationship is
mandatory or optional. If a relationship has cardinality of zero, it is an optional
relationship. If relationship has at least one cardinality then the relationship is
mandatory.
Q6. What is an E-R Diagram?
Ans. An entity-relationship (ER) diagram is a specialized graphic that illustrates the
interrelationships between entities in a database. ER diagrams often use symbols
to represent three different types of information.
Q7. What is logical database design?
[Ch#3] Database Design Process 71 Computer Science Part-II
Ans. It is a process of mapping the conceptual model to the structures of target DBMS.
If the target database is relational then it will be mapped on normalized relations.
Q8. What is physical database design?
Ans. Physical database design is the last stage of database design. The objective of
physical database design is to implement the database as a set of stored, records,
files, indexes and other data structures. These data structures provide performance
and also ensure data integrity, security and recoverability.
Q.9 What is meant by centralized database distribution?
Ans. In centralized database all the data is stored at single location. It is easy but have a
few disadvantages. Data communications may be high in some cases. Data are not
readily accessible by remote users. If central location fails, whole database fails.
Q.10 What is Partitioned database distribution.?
Ans. In partition distribution, data is divided into fragments and these fragments are
placed at different computers. It is more accessible than centralized database
strategy.
Q.11 What is Replicated database distribution.?
Ans. Full copy of database is stored on more than one computer. Any change in parent
computer is replicated to the others. In this strategy more storage space is
required. There can be a huge communication cost while replication. Frequent
synchronization is also required