DBMS Interview Questions

A list of top frequently asked DBMS interview questions and answers are given below.

1) What is DBMS?

DBMS is a collection of programs that facilitates users to create and maintain a database. In other
words, DBMS provides us an interface or tool for performing different operations such as the
creation of a database, inserting data into it, deleting data from it, updating the data, etc. DBMS is
a software in which data is stored in a more secure way as compared to the file-based system.
Using DBMS, we can overcome many problems such as- data redundancy, data inconsistency, easy
access, more organized and understandable, and so on. There is the name of some popular
Database Management System- MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server, Amazon simple DB (Cloud-based), etc.

Working of DBMS is defined in the figure below.

2) What is a database?

A Database is a logical, consistent and organized collection of data that it can easily be accessed,
managed and updated. Databases, also known as electronic databases are structured to provide
the facility of creation, insertion, updating of the data efficiently and are stored in the form of a file
or set of files, on the magnetic disk, tapes and another sort of secondary devices. Database mostly
consists of the objects (tables), and tables include of the records and fields. Fields are the basic
units of data storage, which contain the information about a particular aspect or attribute of the
entity described by the database. DBMS is used for extraction of data from the database in the
form of the queries.

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3) What is a database system?

The collection of database and DBMS software together is known as a database system. Through
the database system, we can perform many activities such as-

The data can be stored in the database with ease, and there are no issues of data redundancy and
data inconsistency.

The data will be extracted from the database using DBMS software whenever required. So, the
combination of database and DBMS software enables one to store, retrieve and access data with
considerate accuracy and security.
4) What are the advantages of DBMS?

Redundancy control

Restriction for unauthorized access

Provides multiple user interfaces

Provides backup and recovery

Enforces integrity constraints

Ensure data consistency

Easy accessibility

Easy data extraction and data processing due to the use of queries

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5) What is a checkpoint in DBMS?

The Checkpoint is a type of mechanism where all the previous logs are removed from the system
and permanently stored in the storage disk.

There are two ways which can help the DBMS in recovering and maintaining the ACID properties,
and they are- maintaining the log of each transaction and maintaining shadow pages. So, when it
comes to log based recovery system, checkpoints come into existence. Checkpoints are those
points to which the database engine can recover after a crash as a specified minimal point from
where the transaction log record can be used to recover all the committed data up to the point of
the crash.

6) When does checkpoint occur in DBMS?

A checkpoint is like a snapshot of the DBMS state. Using checkpoints, the DBMS can reduce the
amount of work to be done during a restart in the event of subsequent crashes. Checkpoints are
used for the recovery of the database after the system crash. Checkpoints are used in the log-based
recovery system. When due to a system crash we need to restart the system then at that point we
use checkpoints. So that, we don't have to perform the transactions from the very starting.

7) What do you mean by transparent DBMS?

The transparent DBMS is a type of DBMS which keeps its physical structure hidden from users.
Physical structure or physical storage structure implies to the memory manager of the DBMS, and it
describes how the data stored on disk.
8) What are the unary operations in Relational Algebra?

PROJECTION and SELECTION are the unary operations in relational algebra. Unary operations are
those operations which use single operands. Unary operations are SELECTION, PROJECTION, and
RENAME.

As in SELECTION relational operators are used for example - =,<=,>=, etc.

9) What is RDBMS?

RDBMS stands for Relational Database Management Systems. It is used to maintain the data
records and indices in tables. RDBMS is the form of DBMS which uses the structure to identify and
access data concerning the other piece of data in the database. RDBMS is the system that enables
you to perform different operations such as- update, insert, delete, manipulate and administer a
relational database with minimal difficulties. Most of the time RDBMS use SQL language because it
is easily understandable and is used for often.

10) How many types of database languages are?

There are four types of database languages:

Data Definition Language (DDL) e.g., CREATE, ALTER, DROP, TRUNCATE, RENAME, etc. All
these commands are used for updating the data that?s why they are known as Data
Definition Language.

Data Manipulation Language (DML)  e.g., SELECT, UPDATE, INSERT, DELETE, etc. These
commands are used for the manipulation of already updated data that's why they are the
part of Data Manipulation Language.

DATA Control Language (DCL)  e.g., GRANT and REVOKE. These commands are used for
giving and removing the user access on the database. So, they are the part of Data Control
Language.

Transaction Control Language (TCL) e.g., COMMIT, ROLLBACK, and SAVEPOINT. These are
the commands used for managing transactions in the database. TCL is used for managing
the changes made by DML.

Database language implies the queries that are used for the update, modify and manipulate the
data.
11) What do you understand by Data Model?

The Data model is specified as a collection of conceptual tools for describing data, data
relationships, data semantics and constraints. These models are used to describe the relationship
between the entities and their attributes.

There is the number of data models:

Hierarchical data model

network model

relational model

Entity-Relationship model and so on.

12) Define a Relation Schema and a Relation.

A Relation Schema is specified as a set of attributes. It is also known as table schema. It defines
what the name of the table is. Relation schema is known as the blueprint with the help of which we
can explain that how the data is organized into tables. This blueprint contains no data.

A relation is specified as a set of tuples. A relation is the set of related attributes with identifying
key attributes

See this example:

Let r be the relation which contains set tuples (t1, t2, t3, ..., tn). Each tuple is an ordered list of n-
values t=(v1,v2, ...., vn).

13) What is a degree of Relation?

The degree of relation is a number of attribute of its relation schema. A degree of relation is also
known as Cardinality it is defined as the number of occurrence of one entity which is connected to
the number of occurrence of other entity. There are three degree of relation they are one-to-
one(1:1), one-to-many(1:M), many-to-one(M:M).

14) What is the Relationship?

The Relationship is defined as an association among two or more entities. There are three type of
relationships in DBMS-

One-To-One: Here one record of any object can be related to one record of another object.

One-To-Many (many-to-one): Here one record of any object can be related to many records of
other object and vice versa.

Many-to-many: Here more than one records of an object can be related to n number of records of
another object.

15) What are the disadvantages of file processing systems?

Inconsistent

Not secure

Data redundancy

Difficult in accessing data

Data isolation

Data integrity

Concurrent access is not possible

Limited data sharing

Atomicity problem

16) What is data abstraction in DBMS?

Data abstraction in DBMS is a process of hiding irrelevant details from users. Because database
systems are made of complex data structures so, it makes accessible the user interaction with the
database.

For example: We know that most of the users prefer those systems which have a simple GUI that
means no complex processing. So, to keep the user tuned and for making the access to the data
easy, it is necessary to do data abstraction. In addition to it, data abstraction divides the system in
different layers to make the work specified and well defined.
17) What are the three levels of data abstraction?

Following are three levels of data abstraction:

Physical level: It is the lowest level of abstraction. It describes how data are stored.

Logical level: It is the next higher level of abstraction. It describes what data are stored in the
database and what the relationship among those data is.

View level: It is the highest level of data abstraction. It describes only part of the entire database.

For example- User interacts with the system using the GUI and fill the required details, but the user
doesn't have any idea how the data is being used. So, the abstraction level is entirely high in VIEW
LEVEL.

Then, the next level is for PROGRAMMERS as in this level the fields and records are visible and the
programmers have the knowledge of this layer. So, the level of abstraction here is a little low in
VIEW LEVEL.

And lastly, physical level in which storage blocks are described.

18) What is DDL (Data Definition Language)?

Data Definition Language (DDL) is a standard for commands which defines the different structures
in a database. Most commonly DDL statements are CREATE, ALTER, and DROP. These commands
are used for updating data into the database.

19) What is DML (Data Manipulation Language)?

DData Manipulation Language (DML) is a language that enables the user to access or manipulate
data as organized by the appropriate data model. For example- SELECT, UPDATE, INSERT, DELETE.

There is two type of DML:

Procedural DML or Low level DML: It requires a user to specify what data are needed and how to
get those data.

Non-Procedural DML or High level DML:It requires a user to specify what data are needed
without specifying how to get those data.

20) Explain the functionality of DML Compiler.

The DML Compiler translates DML statements in a query language that the query evaluation engine
can understand. DML Compiler is required because the DML is the family of syntax element which
is very similar to the other programming language which requires compilation. So, it is essential to
compile the code in the language which query evaluation engine can understand and then work on
those queries with proper output.
21) What is Relational Algebra?

Relational Algebra is a Procedural Query Language which contains a set of operations that take one
or two relations as input and produce a new relationship. Relational algebra is the basic set of
operations for the relational model. The decisive point of relational algebra is that it is similar to the
algebra which operates on the number.

There are few fundamental operations of relational algebra:

select

project

set difference

union

rename,etc.

22) What is Relational Calculus?

Relational Calculus is a Non-procedural Query Language which uses mathematical predicate

calculus instead of algebra. Relational calculus doesn't work on mathematics fundamentals such as
algebra, differential, integration, etc. That's why it is also known as predicate calculus.

There is two type of relational calculus:

Tuple relational calculus

Domain relational calculus

23) What do you understand by query optimization?

The term query optimization specifies an efficient execution plan for evaluating a query that has the
least estimated cost. The concept of query optimization came into the frame when there were a
number of methods, and algorithms existed for the same task then the question arose that which
one is more efficient and the process of determining the efficient way is known as query
optimization.

There are many benefits of query optimization:

It reduces the time and space complexity.

More queries can be performed as due to optimization every query comparatively takes less
time.

User satisfaction as it will provide output fast

24) What do you mean by durability in DBMS?

Once the DBMS informs the user that a transaction has completed successfully, its effect should
persist even if the system crashes before all its changes are reflected on disk. This property is called
durability. Durability ensures that once the transaction is committed into the database, it will be
stored in the non-volatile memory and after that system failure cannot affect that data anymore.

25) What is normalization?

Normalization is a process of analysing the given relation schemas according to their functional
dependencies. It is used to minimize redundancy and also used to minimize insertion, deletion and
update distractions. Normalization is considered as an essential process as it is used to avoid data
redundancy, insertion anomaly, updation anomaly, deletion anomaly.

There most commonly used normal forms are:

First Normal Form(1NF)

Second Normal Form(2NF)

Third Normal Form(3NF)

Boyce & Codd Normal Form(BCNF)

26) What is Denormalization?

Denormalization is the process of boosting up database performance and adding of redundant

data which helps to get rid of complex data. Denormalization is a part of database optimization
technique. This process is used to avoid the use of complex and costly joins. Denormalization
doesn't refer to the thought of not to normalize instead of that denormalization takes place after
normalization. In this process, firstly the redundancy of the data will be removed using
normalization process than through denormalization process we will add redundant data as per the
requirement so that we can easily avoid the costly joins.

27) What is functional Dependency?

Functional Dependency is the starting point of normalization. It exists when a relation between two
attributes allow you to determine the corresponding attribute's value uniquely. The functional
dependency is also known as database dependency and defines as the relationship which occurs
when one attribute in a relation uniquely determines another attribute. It is written as A->B which
means B is functionally dependent on A.

28) What is the E-R model?

E-R model is a short name for the Entity-Relationship model. This model is based on the real world.
It contains necessary objects (known as entities) and the relationship among these objects. Here
the primary objects are the entity, attribute of that entity, relationship set, an attribute of that
relationship set can be mapped in the form of E-R diagram.

In E-R diagram, entities are represented by rectangles, relationships are represented by diamonds,
attributes are the characteristics of entities and represented by ellipses, and data flow is
represented through a straight line.

29) What is an entity?

The Entity is a set of attributes in a database. An entity can be a real-world object which physically
exists in this world. All the entities have their attribute which in the real world considered as the
characteristics of the object.

For example: In the employee database of a company, the employee, department, and the
designation can be considered as the entities. These entities have some characteristics which will be
the attributes of the corresponding entity.

30) What is an Entity type?

An entity type is specified as a collection of entities, having the same attributes. Entity type typically
corresponds to one or several related tables in the database. A characteristic or trait which defines
or uniquely identifies the entity is called entity type.

For example, a student has student_id, department, and course as its characteristics.

31) What is an Entity set?

The entity set specifies the collection of all entities of a particular entity type in the database. An
entity set is known as the set of all the entities which share the same properties.

For example, a set of people, a set of students, a set of companies, etc.

32) What is an Extension of entity type?

An extension of an entity type is specified as a collection of entities of a particular entity type that
are grouped into an entity set.

33) What is Weak Entity set?

An entity set that doesn't have sufficient attributes to form a primary key is referred to as a weak
entity set. The member of a weak entity set is known as a subordinate entity. Weak entity set does
not have a primary key, but we need a mean to differentiate among all those entries in the entity
set that depend on one particular strong entity set.
34) What is an attribute?

An attribute refers to a database component. It is used to describe the property of an entity. An

attribute can be defined as the characteristics of the entity. Entities can be uniquely identified using
the attributes. Attributes represent the instances in the row of the database.

For example: If a student is an entity in the table then age will be the attribute of that student.

35) What are the integrity rules in DBMS?

Data integrity is one significant aspect while maintaining the database. So, data integrity is
enforced in the database system by imposing a series of rules. Those set of integrity is known as
the integrity rules.

There are two integrity rules in DBMS:

Entity Integrity : It specifies that "Primary key cannot have a NULL value."

Referential Integrity: It specifies that "Foreign Key can be either a NULL value or should be the
Primary Key value of other relation

36) What do you mean by extension and intension?

Extension: The Extension is the number of tuples present in a table at any instance. It changes as
the tuples are created, updated and destroyed. The actual data in the database change quite
frequently. So, the data in the database at a particular moment in time is known as extension or
database state or snapshot. It is time dependent.

Intension: Intension is also known as Data Schema and defined as the description of the database,
which is specified during database design and is expected to remain unchanged. The Intension is a
constant value that gives the name, structure of tables and the constraints laid on it.

37) What is System R? How many of its two major subsystems?

System R was designed and developed from 1974 to 1979 at IBM San Jose Research Centre. System
R is the first implementation of SQL, which is the standard relational data query language, and it
was also the first to demonstrate that RDBMS could provide better transaction processing
performance. It is a prototype which is formed to show that it is possible to build a Relational
System that can be used in a real-life environment to solve real-life problems.

Following are two major subsystems of System R:

Research Storage

System Relational Data System

38) What is Data Independence?

Data independence specifies that "the application is independent of the storage structure and
access strategy of data." It makes you able to modify the schema definition at one level without
altering the schema definition in the next higher level.

It makes you able to modify the schema definition in one level should not affect the schema
definition in the next higher level.

There are two types of Data Independence:

Physical Data Independence:  Physical data is the data stored in the database. It is in the bit-
format. Modification in physical level should not affect the logical level.

For example: If we want to manipulate the data inside any table that should not change the format
of the table.

Logical Data Independence: Logical data in the data about the database. It basically defines the
structure. Such as tables stored in the database. Modification in logical level should not affect the
view level.

For example: If we need to modify the format of any table, that modification should not affect the
data inside it.

NOTE: Logical Data Independence is more difficult to achieve.

39) What are the three levels of data abstraction?

Following are three levels of data abstraction:

Physical level: It is the lowest level of abstraction. It describes how data are stored.

Logical level:  It is the next higher level of abstraction. It describes what data are stored in the
database and what relationship among those data.

View level: It is the highest level of data abstraction. It describes only part of the entire database.

For example- User interact with the system using the GUI and fill the required details, but the user
doesn't have any idea how the data is being used. So, the abstraction level is absolutely high in
VIEW LEVEL.

Then, the next level is for PROGRAMMERS as in this level the fields and records are visible and the
programmer has the knowledge of this layer. So, the level of abstraction here is a little low in VIEW
LEVEL.

And lastly, physical level in which storage blocks are described.

40) What is Join?

The Join operation is one of the most useful activities in relational algebra. It is most commonly
used way to combine information from two or more relations. A Join is always performed on the
basis of the same or related column. Most complex queries of SQL involve JOIN command.

There are following types of join:

Inner joins: Inner join is of 3 categories. They are:

Theta join

Natural join

Equi join

Outer joins: Outer join have three types. They are:

Left outer join

Right outer join

Full outer join

41) What is 1NF?

1NF is the First Normal Form. It is the simplest type of normalization that you can implement in a
database. The primary objectives of 1NF are to:

Every column must have atomic (single value)

To Remove duplicate columns from the same table

Create separate tables for each group of related data and identify each row with a unique
column

42) What is 2NF?

2NF is the Second Normal Form. A table is said to be 2NF if it follows the following conditions:

The table is in 1NF, i.e., firstly it is necessary that the table should follow the rules of 1NF.

Every non-prime attribute is fully functionally dependent on the primary key, i.e., every non-
key attribute should be dependent on the primary key in such a way that if any key element
is deleted, then even the non_key element will still be saved in the database.

43) What is 3NF?

3NF  stands for  Third Normal Form. A database is called in 3NF if it satisfies the following
conditions:
 It is in second normal form.

There is no transitive functional dependency.

For example: X->Z

Where:
X->Y

not -> X
Y does
Y->Z so, X->Z

44) What is BCNF?

BCMF stands for Boyce-Codd Normal Form. It is an advanced version of 3NF, so it is also referred

to as 3.5NF. BCNF is stricter than 3NF.

A table complies with BCNF if it satisfies the following conditions:

It is in 3NF.

For every functional dependency X->Y, X should be the super key of the table. It merely
means that X cannot be a non-prime attribute if Y is a prime attribute.

45) Explain ACID properties

ACID properties are some basic rules, which has to be satisfied by every transaction to preserve the
integrity. These properties and rules are:

ATOMICITY:  Atomicity is more generally known as ?all or nothing rule.' Which implies all are
considered as one unit, and they either run to completion or not executed at all.

CONSISTENCY:  This property refers to the uniformity of the data. Consistency implies that the
database is consistent before and after the transaction.

ISOLATION: This property states that the number of the transaction can be executed concurrently
without leading to the inconsistency of the database state.

DURABILITY: This property ensures that once the transaction is committed it will be stored in the
non-volatile memory and system crash can also not affect it anymore.

46) What is stored procedure?

A stored procedure is a group of SQL statements that have been created and stored in the
database. The stored procedure increases the reusability as here the code or the procedure is
stored into the system and used again and again that makes the work easy, takes less time in
processing and decreases the complexity of the system. So, if you have a code which you need to
use again and again then save that code and call that code whenever it is required.
47) What is the difference between a DELETE command and TRUNCATE
command?

DELETE command: DELETE command is used to delete rows from a table based on the condition
that we provide in a WHERE clause.

DELETE command delete only those rows which are specified with the WHERE clause.

DELETE command can be rolled back.

DELETE command maintain a log, that's why it is slow.

DELETE use row lock while performing DELETE function.

TRUNCATE command: TRUNCATE command is used to remove all rows (complete data) from a
table. It is similar to the DELETE command with no WHERE clause.

The TRUNCATE command removes all the rows from the table.

The TRUNCATE command cannot be rolled back.

The TRUNCATE command doesn't maintain a log. That's why it is fast.

TRUNCATE use table log while performing the TRUNCATE function.

48) What is 2-Tier architecture?

The 2-Tier architecture is the same as basic client-server. In the two-tier architecture, applications
on the client end can directly communicate with the database at the server side.
49) What is the 3-Tier architecture?

The 3-Tier architecture contains another layer between the client and server. Introduction of 3-tier
architecture is for the ease of the users as it provides the GUI, which, make the system secure and
much more accessible. In this architecture, the application on the client-end interacts with an
application on the server which further communicates with the database system.
50) How do you communicate with an RDBMS?

You have to use Structured Query Language (SQL) to communicate with the RDBMS. Using queries
of SQL, we can give the input to the database and then after processing of the queries database
will provide us the required output.

51) What is the difference between a shared lock and exclusive lock?

Shared lock: Shared lock is required for reading a data item. In the shared lock, many transactions
may hold a lock on the same data item. When more than one transaction is allowed to read the
data items then that is known as the shared lock.

Exclusive lock: When any transaction is about to perform the write operation, then the lock on the
data item is an exclusive lock. Because, if we allow more than one transaction then that will lead to
the inconsistency in the database.

52) Describe the types of keys?

There are following types of keys:

Primary key: The Primary key is an attribute in a table that can uniquely identify each record in a
table. It is compulsory for every table.

Candidate key: The Candidate key is an attribute or set of an attribute which can uniquely identify
a tuple. The Primary key can be selected from these attributes.

Super key: The Super key is a set of attributes which can uniquely identify a tuple. Super key is a
superset of the candidate key.

Foreign key: The Foreign key is a primary key from one table, which has a relationship with another
table. It acts as a cross-reference between tables.