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CIS223 - Assignment 1

Please answer the following questions. Use Microsoft Word as your word processor.
Place the questions along with the answers in your document. Upon completion,
upload here.

Review Questions
1. Discuss each of the following terms:
a. Data- are plain unprocessed facts
b. Field- character or group of characters used to define data and give it a
specific meaning.
c. Record- a group of one or more fields which provides information about
a person place or thing.
d. File- a bunch of records logically connected to provide information.
2.

What is data redundancy, and which characteristics of the file system can
lead to it?
Data redundancy is when the same data is stored in multiple places without
reason. This is caused by the dispersion of data referred to as islands of
information.

3. What is data independence, and why is it lacking in file systems?


Data independence is when you can change the data storage characteristics
without affecting the ability to access the data.
4. What is a DBMS, and what are its functions?
A database management system is a collection of programs which manage
the database structure and controls access to the data stored in the
database.
5. What is structural independence, and why is it important?
Structural independence is used to change the file structure without affecting
the programs ability to access the data.
6. Explain the difference between data and information.
Data is simply raw unprocessed facts, while information is a collection of
related data which can be used to understand something.
7. What is the role of a DBMS, and what are its advantages? What are its
disadvantages?

CIS223 - Assignment 1
It serves as an intermediary between the user and the database. The DBMS
allows the data to be shared among multiple applications or users and
integrates the various users views of the data into a single repository. The
advantages of using a DBMS include, improved data sharing, better data
integration, minimized data inconsistency, improved data access, improved
decision making, and increased end-user productivity. Disadvantages of the
DBMS include: Increased costs, Management complexity, Frequent upgrade
repair costs, and maintaining currency.
8. List and describe the different types of databases.

Single user database-supports only one user at a time


Desktop database-is a single user database that runs on a personal
computer
Multiuser database-supports multiple users at one time
Workgroup database-is a multiuser database used by 50 users or less
Enterprise database-is a multiuser database used by 50 users or more
Centralized database-supports data located at a single location
Distributed database-supports data located at many locations
General-purpose database-contain wide variety of data used for many
purposes
Discipline-specific database-contains data specific to one area
Operational database-designed to support day to day operations of a
company
Analytical database-designed to store metrics and historical data for
decision making

9. What are the main components of a database system?


The five major parts of a database system are Hardware, software, people,
procedures, and data.
10.What are metadata?
Data about data.
11.Explain why database design is important.
The way the database is designed is very important because it determines
the performance and usability of the database by applications and end-users,
in fact if the database is designed poorly even a good DBMS will perform
poorly.

CIS223 - Assignment 1

Problem Solutions
Given the file structure shown in Figure P1.1, answer Problems 1 - 4.

FIGURE P1.1 The File Structure for Problems 1-4


1. How many records does the file contain? How many fields are there per
record?
The file has seven records, containing five fields per record.
2. What problem would you encounter if you wanted to produce a listing by city?
How would you solve this problem by altering the file structure?
Because the address field contains periods and commas the strings will not
read correctly, but the file structure could be changed so that the street
address, city, state, and zip codes would have their own fields making the
table list-able in order of city.
3. If you wanted to produce a listing of the file contents by last name, area
code, city, state, or zip code, how would you alter the file structure?
I would separate the name field into first, middle initial, and last names which
would allow the table to list in order of last name, and then separate the
address field into street address, city, state, and zip code which allows you to
set the table in order of city, state or zip code. The table can already be set in
order of area code as is because the area code is placed before any special
characters in the phone number field.
4. What data redundancies do you detect? How could those redundancies lead
to anomalies?
Some of the managers are listed for multiple projects resulting in the use of
their name, phone number, and address in multiple places. Due to this

CIS223 - Assignment 1
redundancy, if you were to search the database by phone number you may
be looking at the wrong project.

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