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level: Level 1

Questions and Answers List

level questions: Level 1

Question	Answer
are raw facts - building blocks of information - must be formatted for storage, processing, and presentation - are foundation of information, which is the bedrock of knowledge	data
- is the result of processing raw data to reveal meaning - Information requires context to reveal meaning - produces by processing data and is used to reveal meaning in data	Information
focuses on proper generation, storage, and retrieval of data	Data Management
- shared, integrated computer structure that stores a collection of: 1) End-user Data: raw facts of interest to end user 2) Metadata: data about data	Database
- Provides description of data characteristics and relationships in data - Complements and expands value of data	Metadata
- collection of programs that manages the structure and controls access to data - the intermediary between the user and the database + Database structure stored as a file collection + Can only access files through the DBMS - DBMS enables data to be shared - DBMS integrates many users’ views of the data	Database Management System (DBMS)
~ Improved: - data sharing - data security - data access - decision-making ~ Better data integration ~ Minimized data inconsistency ~ Increased end-user productivity	Advantages of DBMS
-This database supports only one user at a time: Desktop database: single-user; runs on PC	Single-user database
-This database supports multiple users at the same time - Workgroup and enterprise databases	Multiuser database
data located at a single site	Centralized database
data distributed across several different sites	Distributed database
- supports a company’s day-to-day operations =>Transactional or production database	Operational database
stores data used for tactical or strategic decisions	Data warehouse
-represents data elements in textual format ~>XML database supports semi-structured XML data	Extensible Markup Language (XML)
~> focuses on design of database structure used for end-user data Well-designed database: - Facilitates data management - Generates accurate and valuable information Poorly designed database: - Causes difficult-to-trace errors	Database design
- Widely used by business users - Users have become so adept at working with spreadsheets, they tend to use them to complete tasks for which spreadsheets are not appropriate – database substitute	Microsoft Excel
- Requires extensive programming - Cannot perform ad hoc queries - System administration is complex and difficult - Difficult to make changes to existing structures - Security features are likely to be inadequate	File System
- access to a file is dependent on its own structure - All file system programs must be modified to conform to a new structure	Structural dependence
- change file structure without affecting data access	Structural independence
data access changes when data storage characteristics change	Data dependence
data storage characteristics do not affect data access	Data independence
same data stored unnecessarily in different places	Data Redundancy
different and conflicting versions of same data occur at different places	Data inconsistency
abnormalities when all changes in redundant data are not made correctly - Update anomalies - Insertion anomalies - Deletion anomalies	Data anomalies
Organizational structure promotes storage of same data in different locations	Islands of information
- consists of logically related data stored in a single logical data repository - May be physically distributed among multiple storage facilities - DBMS eliminates most of file system’s problems - Current generation stores data structures, relationships between structures, and access paths - Also defines, stores, and manages all access paths and components	Database Systems
Five major parts of a database system 1) Hardware 2) Software 3) People 4) Procedures 5) Data	Five major parts of a database system
all the system’s physical devices	Hardware
three types of software required 1) Operating system software 2) DBMS software 3) Application programs and utility software	Software
- all users of the database system 1) System and database administrators 2) Database designers 3) Systems analysts and programmers 4) End users	People
instructions and rules that govern the design and use of the database system	Procedures
the collection of facts stored in the database	Data
- Database systems are created and managed at different levels of complexity - Database solutions must be cost-effective as well as tactically and strategically effective - Database technology already in use affects selection of a database system	The Database System Environment