What is Database? What are the characteristics of a database?

Database- database is a collection of interrelated data items that can be processed by more than one application. We can also say
that a database is a collection of related information that can be made available to various users for different purposes. A
database is non-redundant, i.e. individual data items appear only once in the database. For example, consider the names,
telephone numbers and addresses of the people you know. This information can be stored in an indexed diary in a sequential
manner. This is a sequential manner. This is a collection of related data with an implicit name and hence is a database. A database
has the following properties:
1. It may be any size and complexity.
2. A database has some source from where it is derived.
3. A database may be generated and maintained manually or it may be computerized.

Application DBMS OS Database

Database system provides safety of information stored in the database. It is designed to manage large bodies of information.
For Example: A sample of employee database can be maintained as shown under:
Emp. No. Name Age Designation Salary
E 2001 Rajesh 34 manager Rs. 38,000
E 2810 Nitin 31 manager Rs. 38000

Other columns will be fill same as other columns: so pls take it easy.
Characteristics of Database:
1. Minimal data redundancy (Duplication)
 Due to centralized database, it is possible avoid unnecessary duplication of information.
 This leads to reduce data redundancy.
 It prevents memory wastage.
 It also reduces extra processing time to get required data.
2. Shared Data
 All authorized users and application program can share database easily.
3. Data consistency
 Data inconsistency occurs due to data redundancy.
 With reduced data redundancy such type of data inconsistency can be eliminated.
 This result is improved data consistency.
4. Data Access
 DBMS utilize a variety of techniques to retrieve data.
 Required data can be retrieved by providing appropriate query to the DBMS.
 Thus, data can be accessed in convenient and efficient manner.
5. Data integrity
 Data in database must be correct and consistent.
 So, data stored in database must satisfy certain types of constraints (rules).
 DBMS provides different ways to such type of constraints (rules).
 This improves data integrity in a database.
6. Data security
 Database should be accessible to user in a limited way.
 DBMS provides way to control the access to data for different user according to their requirements.
 It prevents unauthorized access to data.
 Thus, security can be improved.
7. Concurrent Access
 Multiple users are allowed to access data simultaneously.
 Concurrent access to centralized data can be allowed under some supervision.
 This results in better performance os system and faster response.
Explain advantages and disadvantages of Database management system.
Advantages;
Advantages are same as the characteristics of database then we will discuss disadvantages.
Disadvantages:
1. Cost of software:
DBMS includes a set of programs for accessing or retrieving the data from the database. In present era, there are several
software’s which are much costly. Hence, it increases the overall cost of the database management system.
2. Problems associated with centralization:
In database management system, all the data is stored at a single location and all the applications refers to this location for
accessing the data. When the failure or system crash occurs the information (stored at single location) is lost which creates major
problems.
3.Processing overhead
Database management system introduces a lot of processing overhead to implement security, integrity, sharing of data and
enforcement of standards. A lot of time is waste in implementing them.
4. Complexity of Back-up and Recovery:
In database management system, centralization of data reduces redundancy (duplication), so it is required that the database
should be adequately backed up so that when a failure occurs the data can be recovered. Recovery and backup options are very
complex in a database management system environment and it increases in a concurrent multiple user database system.

Explain the need of database.

Need of database; Handling of a small volume of database can be done manually, e.g. number of students in a class but if we have
a large database and multiple users, then in such case we have to maintain a computerized database. The advantages of database
system over traditional paper based methods of keeping records will make it more clear. Here, some of the advantages are
pointed below:
1. Speed: the machine can retrieve and change data faster than the person.
2. Compactness: No need to maintain the voluminous paper files to maintain required records.
3. Accuracy: Accurate and up to date information is available at anytime in a very short time.
4. Security: security in file system is not possible.

 What is data independence? Explain the difference between logical and physical data independence.
Data independence: the ability to modify a schema definition in one level without affecting the schema definition of the next
higher level is called data independence. Data independence is one of the main advantages of DBMS. There are two levels of
data independence.
1. Logical data independence.
2. Physical data independence.
Logical data independence:
 Logical data independence is the ability to modify the conceptual schema without requiring any change in application
programs.
 Conceptual schema can be changed without affecting the existing external schema.
 Modifications at the logical level are necessary whenever the logical structure of the database is altered.
 Logical data independence separates external level from the conceptual view.
 It is difficult to achieve logical data independence.
Physical data independence:
 Physical data independence allows changing in physical storage devices or organization of file without change in the
conceptual view or external view.
 Modifications at the internal level are occasionally necessary to improve performance.
 Physical data independence separates conceptual level from the internal level.
 It is easy to achieve physical data independence.

Explain DBMS architecture in detail.

Or
Explain the three level architecture of database management system in brief.
Most widely used architecture is 3-tier architecture.
3-tier architecture seperates it tier from each other on the basis of users.

Presentation Tier
User

Client

Application client

Application Tier

Application server

Server Database Tier

Database system

Database (Data) Tier

 At this tier, only database resides.
 Database along with its query processing languages sites in layer-3 of 3-tier architecture.
 It also contains all relations and their constraints.
Application (middle) tier
 At this tier the application server and program, which access database, resides.
 For a user this application tier works as abstracted view of database.
 Users are unaware of any existence of database beyond application.
 For database tier, application tier is the user of it.
 Database tier is not aware of any other user beyond application tier.
 This tier works as mediator between the two.
User (Presentation) Tier
 An end user sits on this tier.
 From a users aspects this tier is everything.
 He/she doesn’t know about any existence or form of database beyond this layer.
 At this layer multiple views of database can be provided by the application.
 All views are generated by an application, which resides in application tier.

What is data model or database model? Also discuss the types of data models and its advantages and
disadvantages.
Data model or Database Model:
Data model is the modeling of the data description, data semantics and consistency constraints of the data. It
provides the conceptual tools for describing the design of a database at each level of data abstraction. Therefore, there
are following four data models used for understanding the structure of the database.
1) Relational Data model: the relational model was developed to remove the limitations of the hierarchical and
network models. Relational database management system is developed by Dr. E.F.Codd. A relational database
represents all data in the database as simple two dimensional tables called relations that is the logical equivalence of
files.
It used the basic concept of a relation or table. The columns or fields in the table identify the attributes such as
name, age etc. A Row or tuple contains all the data of a single instance of the table such as person name.
attributes
SID Sname Sage Sclass SSection
1101 Harsh 14 9 A
1102 Preeti 15 10 A
1103 Rahul 14 10 B
1104 Swati 14 9 A
1105 Deepak 15 10 B

tuple columns

fig: Relation table

Advantages of relational model:

Following are the advantages of relational model:
1. Flexibity: Different tables, from which information has to linked, extracted and can be easily manipulated by operators.
2. Ease of use: the revision of any information as table consisting of rows and columns is much easier to understand.
3. Data Independence: this can be achieved using normalization structure used in a relational database.

Disadvantages: following are the disadvantages of relational model:

1. Storage consumption: Due to the wide operations on tables, it need or consumed physical storage.
2. Hardware overloads: it hides the implementation complexities and the physical storage details from users. So, it need a
powerful machines to run smoothly.

Briefly describe the network model with example.

Network model: network model was developed as an alternative to the hierarchical model. This model is based on directed graph
theory. It replaces the tree of hierarchical model by a graph providing more general connections among the nodes. The main
advantages of network over hierarchical model are its ability to handle many-to-many relationship, i.e. allows a record to have
more than one parent.
In this network model,
 A segment can have multiple parent segments.
 Also a handles many-to-many (M:N) relations, i.e. it allows a record to have more than one parent
For Example: