DBMS INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

BASIC
1. What is database management system?
Database management system (DBMS) is a general – purpose so ware program responsible
for storage, retrieval, defini on, and organiza on of data in a database. This so ware allows
building, defining, working, and sharing databases for mul ple applica on programs.
2. What is the purpose of database management system?
The main purpose of database management system is large storage of data, simplified
access, and modifica on. It should be able to eliminate data redundancy and irregularity,
and make sure that only authorized users are allowed access.
3. What is an instance in DBMS?
Instance can be defined as a glimpse or snapshot of the data in a database at any given
instant of me. The way the database is viewed at the current instant may vary from how it
was viewed few minutes ago as there may be modifica ons made on it. Instance allows us to
see those modifica ons.
4. Why is a storage manager needed in DBMS?
Database is used to store large amount of data for processing. Hence, a large storage space
is needed, and a storage manager is responsible for storing, retrieving, upda ng, and
managing the data in this large storage space. It acts as an interface between the data stored
and applica on programs requiring access to it.
5. What is the role of query processor in DBMS?

The data stored in database is used by various applica on programs. A query processer is
necessary to facilitate the faster processing of the user’s queries which will simplify the
process of access to data in the database.
6. What is index in DBMS?
Indices are used to provide faster access to the data in the database. It provides quick data
accesses by reducing the number of disk accesses required for every query that is processed.
7. What is an en ty in DBMS?
En ty is an object or a thing from the real world which is dis nct from other objects. An
en ty has a set of proper es which describe its individuality. An employee in an organiza on
is an en ty.
8. What is an a ribute domain in DBMS?
A ribute domain is defined as the pre – defined value or scope of an a ribute in rela on.
An a ribute may have constraint that it cannot contain NULL values, or it should contain
unique values. These unique and not NULL constraints are the a ribute domain of that
par cular a ribute.
9. What is an en ty set in DBMS?
En ty set is a collec on of en es of a similar en ty type i.e., possess similar a ributes or
characteris cs. All the facul es working in an educa onal ins tu on may be defined under a
single en ty set.
10. What is an a ribute in DBMS?
A ribute is defined as the proper es which dis nguish one en ty set from another. They are
the descrip ve characteris cs of each member in an en ty set. The a ributes of the
‘instructor’ en ty set may be instructor’s ID, name, department name, salary, age and so on.
11. What is a rela onship in DBMS?

Rela onship is used to represent the connec on or associa on between different en es.
An instructor may be related to a student as a mentor. Rela onships are represented using
diamond symbol in the E – R diagram.
12. Why is rela onal model the most popular data model in DBMS?
Rela onal model allows storage of data in tables called rela ons. Storage of data in rela ons
allow easier modifica on, maintenance, and management. Any modifica on can be done by
changing the values in the table and rela onships can be easily interpreted using tables. This
also enables easy implementa on of SQL queries.
13. What is the meaning of value of an a ribute in DBMS?
En es are described by a set of a ributes and each en ty has a value for each of its
a ributes which may or may not be unique. An instructor has an a ribute ID whose value is
10000.
14. What are the two entries in the table maintained for indexing in DBMS?
Faster access using indexing is achieved with a help of a table containing two columns. The
first column of the table holds the primary key or the candidate key of the respec ve table
whereas as the second columns contains a set of pointers to indicate the loca ons where
the specific key values are stored in the disk block.
15. What is the meaning of degree of a rela onship set in DBMS?
Degree of a rela onship set is the number of en ty sets associa ng or par cipa ng in the
rela onship set. If the rela onship set associates two en ty sets, it is termed as a binary
rela onship.
16. What is an intangible en ty in DBMS?
Intangible en ty is referred to a real – world object which exists only logically and there is
no physical existence or trace of it. Bank account is an example of an intangible en ty as it
only has a logical existence in the real world.
17. What is a weak en ty set?
Usually, each en ty set has a unique a ribute or set of a ributes forming a primary key.
A weak en ty set is an en ty set incapable of forming a primary key because of insufficient
a ributes to create a primary key.
18. What is a strong en ty set?
A strong en ty set is an en ty set which has the sufficient a ribute or set of a ributes to
form a primary key which uniquely recognizes each record in a rela on.
19. What are the proper es of a primary key in DBMS?
A primary key is responsible for unique iden fica on of records in a table. Hence, each
record must only contain a unique value for the a ribute or a ributes ac ng as primary key.
Further, it cannot contain NULL values as well.
20. What is an iden fying rela onship in DBMS?
A weak en ty set is meant to be meaningful only when it is associated with a strong en ty
set called iden fying or owner en ty set. The rela onship connec ng the weak en ty set
with its owner en ty set is called an iden fying rela onship.
Intermediate DBMS Interview Ques ons with Answers
21. What is data?
Data can be defined as facts which are unsystema c, raw, and disorganized but have implicit
meaning. Data must be processed to derive the significant informa on which is being
conveyed. Examples of data are age, name, address and so on.

22. What is informa on?

Informa on is organized data which has been processed in a meaningful manner. Processed,
structured and expressive data is more useful to perform the required tasks.
23. What is a database?
Database is a systema c collec on of related data with intrinsic meaning. Databases allow
electronic storage of informa on which makes upda on, manipula on, dele on, and
inser on of data much easier.
24. What is the meaning of the term “defining a database”?
Defining a database refers to men oning the data types, design for structuring the data and
constraints to be put on the data stored in the database.
25. What is the meaning of the term “construc ng a database”?
Construc ng a database refers to storage of data in the respec ve physical storage medium
that is controlled by the database management system.
26. What is the meaning of the term “manipula ng a database”?
Manipula ng a database refers to modifica on of stored data i.e., upda ng, dele ng or
inser ng data, retrieval of specific data and querying to generate reports on the data in the
database.
27. What is database schema?
Database schema is the overall logical design of how data will be stored in the database. It
describes the en es used to represent the data and depicts the rela onship among these
en es by means schema diagrams.
28. What is data independence?
Data independence is the capacity to reflect changes in the database design or schema at
one par cular level of a database system without needing any changes in the schema at the
other levels of design.
29. What is data abstrac on?
Data abstrac on is defined as the portrayal of only the essen al features while suppressing
the unwanted details with respect to data organiza on and storage. The users don’t need
informa on of how data is actually stored or how the opera ons are performed on data,
hence DBMS provides only the conceptual illustra on of the database.
30. What is physical database schema?
Physical database schema pertains to the actual storage of data in the physical storage
medium. It depicts database design at the physical level where the data is kept in secondary
storage in the form of files, indices and so on.
31. What is logical database schema?
Logical database schema relates to design of database at the logical level. It defines the
representa on of data in tables and views and specifies the integrity constraints applied on
the data.
32. What is sub – schema?
Sub – schema is referred to the different schemas of the database at the view level of the
database design. It depicts the different views of the data stored in the database.
33. What is a table in a database?
Table is a structure used to represent the data in a database as a combina on of rows and
columns containing some values. Table is also referred to as a rela on and it is the most
important component of the database.
34. What is a record in a database?
Record also referred to as a row or tuple is a collec on of related data with each row having
a similar structure. A record contains unique values for different fields of a single en ty.
35. What is a field in a database?
Field also referred to a column or a ribute is used to iden fy the different classes of data in
a database. Each field holds data of a par cular type like text, numbers, alphanumeric and
so on.
36. What are data files?
Data files are used to store the en re database itself. It acts as a repository which stores all
the data rela ng to the objects represented in the schema of a database.
37. What is data dic onary?
Data dic onary is used to store the metadata which contains the descrip on of the
structure of the database. It contains the names of the rela ons and their schemas, details
of data stored, the security and integrity constraints applied, how and where the data is
stored in physical medium, and who has access to the which data.
38. What is DDL?
Data Defini on Language (DDL) is mainly used for defining the database, designing the
schema of the database and to create and alter the structure of the objects in the database
before the actual storage of data.
39. What is DML?
Data Manipula on Language (DML) is mainly used for manipula ng or working on the data
stored in the database according to the user’s queries. The user can insert, delete, and
update specific data using DML.
40. What is a data model?

Data model is a structure used to define how data will be stored, accessed, manipulated,
and shared in a database management system. It specifies a set of opera ons to store,
retrieve, update, and delete data and also depicts the rela onship between the different
objects in the database.
41. What is object – oriented data model?
Object – oriented data model uses a structure called as object to represent both data and
the rela onships among them. The objects are connected or related to each other by means
of links.
42. What is object rela onal data model?
Object – rela onal data model combines the features of object – oriented data model as
well as rela onal model. It incorporates both objects and tabular structure for data storage.
43. What is the difference between total and par al par cipa on between en ty sets?
Total par cipa on indicates that all the en ty sets associated with a rela onship are
involved in the rela onship while par al par cipa on indicates that not all the connected
en ty sets are par cipa ng in the rela onship.
44. What is Enhanced E – R Model?
Enhanced E – R model also called as Extended E – R model, is an extension of the exis ng E
– R model which supports more complex databases. In addi on to suppor ng the
func onali es of simple E – R model, it has provisions to support sub – classes, super –
classes, specializa on, generaliza on, aggrega on, and inheritance.
45. What is overlapping specializa on?
Overlapping specializa on is a type of specializa on in which an en ty from the super class
may belong to more than one sub – classes i.e., it is said to belong to mul ple specialized
en ty sets.
46. What is disjoint specializa on?

Disjoint specializa on is a type of specializa on in which an en ty from the super class may
belong to at most one sub – class i.e., it is said to have only one specializa on.
47. What is generaliza on?
Generaliza on is the process of defining a generalized en ty by combining mul ple lower –
level en ty types based on one or more common dis nguishing features. It employs a
bo om – up approach.
48. What is aggrega on?
Aggrega on is the process by which rela onships can be regarded as higher – level en es.
It allows the rela on between two or more en es to be treated as a single en ty.
49. What is a rela onal database?

Rela onal database refers to the storage of data in the form of rela ons with unique names.
The data in the database is organized in the form of tables with rows and columns which
hold informa on about the real – world objects to be depicted in the database.
50. What is a ribute inheritance?
A ribute inheritance is the applica on of dis nc ve a ributes of higher – level en es to
the lower – level en es i.e., proper es of higher – level en es are inherited by the lower –
level en es. For example a student and an instructor both inherit a ributes of the en ty
‘Person’.