Quick Revision

GK One-Line Question & Answer

15541+ short questions with short answers, covering every category and sub-category on the site — no long articles to scroll through. Good for a fast recap before an exam, or a few minutes of daily practice.

DBMS → Introduction to DBMS 36

Concurrent access anomalies in file systems occur because
Multiple users update data simultaneously without coordination leading to inconsistency
click to copy
Security problem in file processing systems is that
Enforcing access constraints is difficult in ad hoc file-based systems
click to copy
A database-management system (DBMS) is
A collection of interrelated data AND set of programs to access those data
click to copy
Which symbol represents an entity in ER notation?
Rectangle
click to copy
Which symbol represents a relationship in ER notation?
Diamond
click to copy
A derived attribute is shown as
Dashed ellipse
click to copy
A multi-valued attribute is shown as
Double ellipse
click to copy
A weak entity is represented by
Double rectangle
click to copy
The identifying relationship of a weak entity uses
Double diamond
click to copy
Composite attribute in ER has
Ellipse with sub-component ellipses branching off
click to copy
A unary (recursive) relationship has degree
1
click to copy
A binary relationship has degree
2
click to copy
A ternary relationship has degree
3
click to copy
ISA hierarchy in ER represents
Specialization and generalization inheritance
click to copy
Generalization is which process?
Bottom-up: combining similar entities into a superclass
click to copy
Specialization is which process?
Top-down: dividing superclass into specialized subclasses
click to copy
Disjoint ISA constraint means
Entities can be in AT MOST ONE subclass
click to copy
Overlapping ISA constraint means
Entities can belong to MULTIPLE subclasses simultaneously
click to copy
Total completeness means
Every superclass entity MUST belong to at least one subclass
click to copy
Aggregation in ER treats
A relationship set as an abstract entity to participate in another relationship
click to copy
In min-max notation (0,N) on a relationship side means
Zero (optional) to many
click to copy
In min-max notation (1,1) means
At least one and at most one (mandatory, exactly once)
click to copy
Weak entity PK is formed by
Discriminator plus owner entity's primary key
click to copy
Partial participation means
Only SOME entity instances participate in the relationship
click to copy
A regular entity has
Its own key attribute and exists independently
click to copy
M:N cardinality means
Each entity can relate to many instances on the other side
click to copy
Students enroll in courses is what cardinality?
M:N
click to copy
Employee assigned one parking space is what cardinality?
1:1
click to copy
Key attribute in ER is shown with
Underlined attribute name
click to copy
An associative entity (junction entity) is used when
M:N relationship needs its own attributes
click to copy
M:N relationship requires in relational schema
Junction table with FKs to both entity tables
click to copy
Relational Algebra is
Procedural: specifies what and HOW to get data
click to copy
Selection operator σ selects
Rows satisfying a condition from a relation
click to copy
Projection operator π extracts
Specific columns (attributes) from a relation
click to copy
For Union R∪S to be valid R and S must be
Union-compatible: same degree and compatible domains
click to copy
R∩S returns
Tuples present in BOTH R and S
click to copy

DBMS → Views 1

The purpose of view level abstraction is to
Simplify user interaction by showing only relevant parts of database
click to copy

DBMS → Transactions 1

Atomicity problems in file systems occur because
Operations like fund transfers may be partially completed during failures
click to copy

DBMS → ER Model 2

ER diagrams are created in which design phase?
Conceptual design
click to copy
ER diagram to relational schema: each entity becomes
A table (relation)
click to copy