NoSQL Databases - Short Exam Answers
Section 1: NoSQL Questions (Image 1)
1a. Popular relational databases include Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server. These
are widely used for structured data management.
1b. Persistence refers to saving data permanently using suitable data stores like RDBMS,
NoSQL, or flat files, depending on scalability, consistency, and performance needs.
1c. Yes, using aggregate functions like SUM(), AVG(), COUNT() in SQL and MongoDB's
aggregation pipeline in NoSQL.
1d. Yes, aggregates help combine and analyze data that is frequently queried together,
improving query performance and reducing computation time.
1e. Pessimistic concurrency control prevents conflicts by locking data during access or
updates.
1f. Strong consistency ensures that all users see the same data at the same time across
distributed systems.
1g. Column-oriented databases like Cassandra and HBase store data column-wise instead of
rows, optimizing analytical queries.
1h. Graph databases model data as nodes and edges for relationships, while SQL uses
foreign keys and joins to relate tables.
1i. NoSQL is a non-relational database designed for horizontal scaling, schema flexibility,
and handling unstructured/semi-structured data.
1j. A Key-Value store like Redis stores data as simple {key: value} pairs for fast lookups.
Section 2: NoSQL Concepts (Image 2)
2a. Schema-less, horizontally scalable, high performance, distributed architecture, and
support for unstructured data.
2b. Four types: Key-Value (Redis), Document (MongoDB), Column-Family (Cassandra),
Graph (Neo4j).
2c. NoSQL is schema-less and scalable, while RDBMS has a fixed schema and supports
complex joins.
2d. NoSQL databases support horizontal scaling (adding more servers), enabling high
availability and performance for large datasets.
2e. Sharding is the process of splitting large collections into smaller chunks across multiple
servers (shards) for scalability.
2f. A model where each key is associated with a single value. Common in Redis, DynamoDB.
2g. Column-oriented: Stores data column-wise (e.g., HBase, Cassandra). Document-oriented:
Stores JSON/BSON documents (e.g., MongoDB).
2h. A NoSQL database optimized for storing and querying relationships, using nodes and
edges. Example: Neo4j.
2i. Union, Intersection, Difference, Subset, Membership – supported in databases like Redis.
2j. Availability in graph databases is achieved through replication and partitioning, ensuring
system access during failures.
Section 3: One Mark Questions (Image 3)
Q. No Question Answer
1 Differentiate NoSQL and NoSQL is schema-less &
RDBMS scalable; RDBMS is
structured & relational.
2 Features of NoSQL Schema-less, distributed,
scalable, supports big data
& real-time apps.
3 CAP Theorem A distributed system can
provide only 2 out of 3:
Consistency, Availability,
Partition Tolerance.
4 Query Features Supports flexible queries
but lacks joins. Document
stores use query APIs.
5 Key-Value in MongoDB { 'key': 'value' } pairs where
key is unique for fast access.
6 Transactions in HBase Supports atomic row-level
operations, but no multi-
row transactions.
7 Column-Oriented Databases Examples: HBase,
Cassandra, Google Bigtable.
8 Graph Database Features Stores data as nodes and
edges, ideal for
relationship-heavy data.
9 Set Operations Union, Intersection,
Difference, Membership –
used in Redis.
10 Programming Languages in Supported: Java, Python,
NoSQL JavaScript, Go, C++.
