Final Exam Review on Chpter 7: Introduction to Structured Query Language (SQL)

Chapter 07: Introduction to Structured Query Language (SQL)

True / False
1. A database language enables the user to perform complex queries designed to transform the raw data into useful
information.
a. True
b. False

2. SQL is considered difficult to learn; its command set has a vocabulary of more than 300 words.
a. True
b. False

3. The ANSI SQL standards are also accepted by the ISO.

a. True
b. False

4. The COMMIT command does not permanently save all changes. In order to do that, you must use SAVE.
a. True
b. False

5. All SQL commands must be issued on a single line.

a. True
b. False

6. Although SQL commands can be grouped together on a single line, complex command sequences are best shown on
separate lines, with space between the SQL command and the command’s components.
a. True
b. False

7. An alias cannot be used when a table is required to be joined to itself in a recursive query.
a. True
b. False

8. Oracle users can use the Access QBE (query by example) query generator.
a. True
b. False

9. You can select partial table contents by naming the desired fields and by placing restrictions on the rows to be included
in the output.
a. True

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b. False

10. Comparison operators cannot be used to place restrictions on character-based attributes.

a. True
b. False

11. String comparisons are made from left to right.

a. True
b. False

12. Date procedures are often more software-specific than other SQL procedures.
a. True
b. False

13. SQL allows the use of logical restrictions on its inquiries such as OR, AND, and NOT.
a. True
b. False

14. You cannot insert a row containing a null attribute value using SQL.
a. True
b. False

15. ANSI-standard SQL allows the use of special operators in conjunction with the WHERE clause.
a. True
b. False

16. The conditional LIKE must be used in conjunction with wildcard characters.
a. True
b. False

17. Most SQL implementations yield case-insensitive searches.

a. True
b. False

18. Some RDBMSs, such as Microsoft Access, automatically make the necessary conversions to eliminate case
sensitivity.
a. True
b. False

19. The COUNT function is designed to tally the number of non-null "values" of an attribute, and is often used in
conjunction with the DISTINCT clause.
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a. True
b. False

20. Numeric functions take one numeric parameter and return one value.
a. True
b. False

Multiple Choice
21. The SQL data manipulation command HAVING:
a. restricts the selection of rows based on a conditional b. restricts the selection of grouped rows based on a
expression. condition.
c. modifies an attribute’s values in one or more table’s d. groups the selected rows based on one or more
rows. attributes.

22. The SQL command that allows a user to permanently save data changes is _____.
a. INSERT b. SELECT
c. COMMIT d. UPDATE

23. The _____ command defines a default value for a column when no value is given.
a. CHECK b. UNIQUE
c. NOT NULL d. DEFAULT

24. The _____ command restricts the selection of grouped rows based on a condition.
a. DISPLAY b. HAVING
c. FROM d. CONVERT

25. A(n) _____ query specifies which data should be retrieved and how it should be filtered, aggregated, and displayed.
a. INSERT b. SELECT
c. COMMIT d. UPDATE

26. A(n) _____ is an alternate name given to a column or table in any SQL statement.
a. alias b. data type
c. stored function d. trigger

27. According to the rules of precedence, which of the following computations should be completed first?
a. Additions and subtractions b. Multiplications and divisions
c. Operations within parentheses d. Power operations

28. Which query is used to list a unique value for V_CODE, where the list will produce only a list of those values that are
different from one another?
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a. SELECT ONLY V_CODE b. SELECT UNIQUE V_CODE
FROM PRODUCT; FROM PRODUCT;
c. SELECT DIFFERENT V_CODE d. SELECT DISTINCT V_CODE
FROM PRODUCT; FROM PRODUCT;

29. When using a(n) _____ join, only rows from the tables that match on a common value are returned.
a. full b. outer
c. inner d. set

30. A(n) _____ join will select only the rows with matching values in the common attribute(s).
a. natura b. outer
l
c. full d. cross

31. If a designer wishes to create an inner join, but the two tables do not have a commonly named attribute, he can use
a(n) _____ clause.
a. OF b. USING
c. HAS d. JOIN ON

32. A(n) _____ join returns not only the rows matching the join condition (that is, rows with matching values in the
common columns) but also the rows with unmatched values.
a. outer b. inner
c. equi- d. cross

33. The syntax for a left outer join is _____.

a. SELECT column-list b. SELECT column-list
FROM table1 OUTER JOIN table2 LEFT FROM table1 LEFT [OUTER] JOIN table2
WHERE join-condition ON join-condition
c. SELECT column-list d. SELECT column-list
WHERE LEFT table1 = table FROM table1 LEFT table2 [JOIN]
WHERE join-condition

34. A(n) _____ join performs a relational product (also known as the Cartesian product) of two tables.
a. full b. cross
c. natura d. equi-
l

35. How many rows would be returned from a cross join of tables A and B, if A contains 8 rows and B contains 18?
a. 8 b. 18
c. 2 d. 144
6

36. Which comparison operator indicates a value is not equal?

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a. < b. <=
c. >= d. <>

37. What type of command does this SQL statement use?

SELECT P_CODE, P_DESCRIPT, P_PRICE_V_NAME
FROM PRODUCT, VENDOR
WHERE PRODUCT.V_CODE=VENDOR. V_CODE
a. set operator b. natural join
c. "old-style" d. procedural
join statement

38. The special operator used to check whether an attribute value is within a range of values is _____.
a. BETWEE b. NULL
N
c. LIKE d. IN

39. The special operator used to check whether an attribute value matches a given string pattern is _____.
a. BETWEE b. IS NULL
N
c. LIKE d. IN

40. The SQL aggregate function that gives the number of rows containing non-null values for a given column is _____.
a. COUNT b. MIN
c. MAX d. SUM

41. A(n) _____ is a query that is embedded (or nested) inside another query.
a. alias b. operato
r
c. subquery d. view

42. In subquery terminology, the first query in the SQL statement is known as the _____ query.
a. oute b. left
r
c. inne d. base
r

43. The special operator used to check whether a subquery returns any rows is _____.
a. BETWEEN b. EXISTS
c. LIKE d. IN

44. Which is a feature of a correlated subquery?

a. The inner subquery executes first. b. The outer subquery initiates the process of
execution in a subquery.
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c. The inner subquery initiates the process of d. The outer subquery executes independent of the
execution in a subquery. inner subquery.

45. The _____ function returns the current system date in MS Access.
a. TO_DATE() b. SYSDATE()
c. DATE() d. TODAY()

46. When using the Oracle TO_DATE function, the code _____ represents a three-letter month name.
a. MON b. MM3
c. MONTH d. MM

47. _____ is a string function that returns the number of characters in a string value.
a. LENGTH b. SUBSTRING
c. CONCAT d. UCASE

48. The Oracle _____ function compares an attribute or expression with a series of values and returns an associated value
or a default value if no match is found.
a. NVL b. TO_CHAR
c. DECODE d. CONVERT

49. In Oracle, the _____ function converts a date to a character string.

a. CONVERT() b. TO_DATE
c. TO_CHAR() d. TO_STRING()

50. _____ is a relational set operator.

a. EXCEPT b. PLUS
c. ALL d. EXISTS

Completion
51. The basic SQL vocabulary has fewer than _100_words.

52. The _unique_ specification is used to avoid having duplicated values in a column.

53. In the SQL environment, the word _query_ covers both questions and actions.

54. A(n) _wildcard_ character is a symbol that can be used as a general substitute for other characters or commands.

55. The _join_ condition is generally composed of an equality comparison between the foreign key and the primary key of
related tables.

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56. A(n) _cascading_ order sequence is a multilevel ordered sequence that can be created easily by listing several
attributes, separated by commas, after the ORDER BY clause.

57. An alias is especially useful when a table must be joined to itself in a(n) _recursive_ query.

58. The _SELECT_ command, coupled with appropriate search conditions, is an incredibly powerful tool that enables a
user to transform data into information.

59. A specialty field in mathematics, known as _boolean_ algebra, is dedicated to the use of logical operators.

60. In SQL, all _condtional_ expressions evaluate to true or false.

61. Rows can be grouped into smaller collections quickly and easily using the _GROUP BY_ clause within the SELECT
statement.

62. The _HAVING_ clause of the GROUP BY statement operates very much like the WHERE clause in the SELECT
statement.

63. A(n) _subquery_, also known as a nested query or an inner query, is a query that is embedded (or nested) inside
another query.

64. DATE() and SYSDATE are special functions that return today’s date in MS Access and _Oracle_, respectively.

65. _CAST and CONVERT_ functions allow you to take a value of a given data type and convert it to the equivalent
value in another data type.

66. “_Union-compatible_” means that the names of the relation attributes must be the same and their data types must be
alike.

67. The _MINUS_ statement in SQL combines rows from two queries and returns only the rows that appear in the first set
but not in the second.

68. The _IN_ operator could be used in place of INTERSECT if the DBMS does not support it.

69. The _NOT IN_ operator could be used in place of EXCEPT (MINUS) if the DBMS does not support it.

70. The syntax of the EXCEPT statement in Oracle is _____.SELECT expression1, expression2, ...
expression_n
FROM tables

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[WHERE conditions]
MINUS
SELECT expression1, expression2, ... expression_n
FROM tables
[WHERE conditions];

Essay
71. Explain the SQL function categories.
1. SQL is a data definition language (DDL). It includes commands to create database objects such
as tables, indexes, and views, as well as commands to define access rights to those databases
objects.
2. SQL is a data manipulation language (DML). It includes commands to insert, update, delete,
and retrieve data within the database tables.
.
72. What are the wildcard characters that are used with the LIKE command? Provide one or more examples of each.
The LIKE special operator is used in conjunction with wildcards to find patterns within string
attributes. Standard SQL allows a user to use the percentage sign (%) and underscore (_) wildcard
characters to make matches when the entire string is not known:
% means any and all following or preceding characters are eligible. For example:
‘J%’ includes Johnson, Jones, Jernigan, July, and J-231Q.
‘Jo%’ includes Johnson and Jones.
‘%n’ includes Johnson and Jernigan.
_ means any one character may be substituted for the underscore. For example:
‘_23-456-6789’ includes 123-456-6789, 223-456-6789, and 323-456-6789.
‘_23-_56-678_’ includes 123-156-6781, 123-256-6782, and 823-956-6788.
‘_o_es’ includes Jones, Cones, Cokes, totes, and roles.

73. What is a subquery? What is always executed first?

A subquery, also known as a nested query or an inner query, is a query that is embedded (or nested)
inside another query. The inner query is always executed first by the RDBMS.
74. What are the four different types of results that can be returned from a subquery?
Zero or one row, One or more rows, One or more columns, Subqueries which are placed within another subquery.
75. Describe the important features and applications of SQL functions.

Can contain SQL Procedural Language statements and features which support the implementation of control-flow logic
around traditional static and dynamic SQL statements.
Are easy to implement, because they use a simple high-level, strongly typed language.
SQL functions are more reliable than equivalent external functions.
Support input parameters.
SQL scalar functions return a scalar value.
SQL table functions return a table result set.
Support a simple, but powerful condition and error-handling model.
Allow you to easily access the SQLSTATE and SQLCODE values as special variables.
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Reside in the database and are automatically backed up and restored as part of backup and restore operations.
Can be invoked wherever expressions in an SQL statement are supported.
Support nested functions calls to other SQL functions or functions implemented in other languages.
Support recursion (when dynamic SQL is used in compiled functions).
Can be invoked from triggers.

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