Q1. What is the difference between MIS and DSS? What are the different types of DSS? Ans.

MIS and DSS are two abbreviations that are often heard in the field of Business Management. They differ in a few aspects. MIS stands for Management Information Systems whereas DSS stands for Decision Support Systems. MIS is a type of link that assists in the communication between managers of various disciplines in a business firm or an organization it plays a very important role in building up communication among the corporate people. DSS on the other hand is an improvement of the concept of MIS. It is true that both of them differ in terms of their focus. DSS focuses more on leadership. It is all about senior management in a firm providing innovative vision. n the other hand MIS focuses more on the information gathered and the information that has poured from different !uarters. "#perts on managerial behavior say that DSS focuses more on decision making. MIS on the other hand focuses more on planning the report of various topics concerned with the organization that would assist the managers to take vital decisions pertaining to the functioning of the organization. ne of the finest differences between MIS and DSS is that MIS focuses on operational efficiency whereas DSS focuses more on making effective decision or in other words helping the company to do the right thing. $low of information is from both sides% up and down in the case of MIS. n the other flow of information is only upward in the case of DSS. In the case of DSS the report can be fle#ible whereas in the case of MIS the report is usually not fle#ible. MIS is characterized by an input of large volume of data% an output of summary reports and process characterized by a simple model. n the other hand DSS is featured by an input of low volume of data% an output of decision analysis and a process characterized by interactive model. MIS is a primary level of decision making whereas DSS is the ultimate and the main part of the decision. &s a matter of fact MIS is all about theory whereas DSS is all about practice and analysis. There are five different types of Decision Support System Communication-dri en DSS - Most communications'driven DSSs are targetted at internal teams% including partners. Its purpose are to help conduct a meeting% or for users to collaborate. The most common technology used to deploy the DSS is a web or client server. "#amples( chats and instant messaging software% online collaboration and net'meeting systems. Data-dri en DSS - Most data'driven DSSs are targeted at managers% staff and also product)service suppliers. It is used to !uery a database or data warehouse to seek specific answers for specific purposes. It is deployed via a main frame system% client)server link% or via the web. "#amples( computer'based databases that have a !uery system to check Document-dri en DSS - Document'driven DSSs are more common% targeted at a broad base of user groups. The purpose of such a DSS is to search web pages and find documents on a specific set of keywords or search terms. The usual technologies used to set up such DSSs are via the web or a client)server system. !now"ed#e-dri en DSS - It is essentially used to provide management advice or to choose products)services. The typical deployment technology used to set up such systems could be silent)server systems% the web% or software running on stand'alone *+s.

Mode"-dri en DSS - Model'driven DSSs are comple# systems that help analyse decisions or choose between different options. These are used by managers and staff members of a business% or people who interact with the organization% for a number of purposes depending on how the model is set up ' scheduling% decision analyses etc. These DSSs can be deployed via software)hardware in stand'alone *+s% client)server systems% or the web. Q$. Differentiate between %&A' and %&('. Ans. ,e can divide IT systems into transactional - .T*/ and analytical - .&*/. In general we can assume that .T* systems provide source data to data warehouses% whereas .&* systems help to analyze it. .T* - n'line Transaction *rocessing/ is characterized by a large number of short on'line transactions -I0S"1T% 2*D&T"% D"."T"/. The main emphasis for .T* systems is put on very fast !uery processing% maintaining data integrity in multi'access environments and an effectiveness measured by number of transactions per second. In .T* database there is detailed and current data% and schema used to store transactional databases is the entity model. .&* - n'line &nalytical *rocessing/ is characterized by relatively low volume of transactions. 3ueries are often very comple# and involve aggregations. $or .&* systems a response time is an effectiveness measure. .&* applications are widely used by Data Mining Techni!ue. In .&* database there is aggregated% data% stored in multi'dimensional system. The following table summarizes the ma4or differences between .T* and .&* system design. .T* perational data5 .T*s are Source of data the original source of the data. *urpose of To control and data run fundamental business tasks Inserts and 1eveals a snapshot of 2pdates ongoing business processes 1elatively standardized and simple !ueries 1eturning 3ueries relatively few records .&* +onsolidation data5 .&* data comes from the various .T* Databases To help with planning% problem solving% and decision support *eriodic long'running batch 4obs refresh the data

ften comple# !ueries involving aggregations Depends on the amount of data involved5 batch data refreshes and comple# !ueries *rocessing may take many hours5 !uery speed can be Speed Typically very fast improved by creating inde#es .arger due to the e#istence Space +an be relatively small if of aggregation structures and history data5 1e!uirements historical data is archived re!uires more inde#es than .T* Database 6ighly normalized with many Typically de'normalized with fewer tables5 Design tables use of star and)or snowflake schemas Backup religiously5 operational data is critical to run the business% Instead of regular backups% some data loss is likely to entail environments may consider simply Backup and significant monetary loss reloading the .T* data as 1ecovery and legal liability a recovery method

Q). *+p"ain the Simon,s mode" of decision ma-in#. Differentiate between Structured. Semi structured and /nstructured Decision Ma-in#. Ans. 6erbert Simon made key contributions to enhance our understanding of the decision' making process. In fact% he pioneered the field of decision support system. &ccording to Simon and his later work with 0ewell% decision'making is a process with distinct stages. 6e suggested for the first time the decision'making model of human beings. 6is model of decision'making has three stages( Intelligence which deals with the problem identification and the data collection on the problem. Design which deals with the generation of alternative solutions to the problem at hand. +hoice which is selecting the 7best7 solution from amongst the alternative solutions using some criterion.

The figure given below depicts Simon7s decision'making model clearly.

Difference between Structures% 2nstructured 8 Semi Structured Decision Making' Structured Decisions- Structured decision support systems may simply use a checklist or form to ensure that all necessary data are collected and that the decision making process is not skewed by the absence of data. If the choice is also to support the procedural or process component of the decision% then it is !uite possible to develop a program either as part of the checklist or form. In fact% it is also possible and desirable to develop computer programs that collect and combine the data% thus giving the process a high degree of consistency or structure. ,hen there is a desire to make a decision more structured% the support system for that decision is designed to ensure consistency. Many firms that hire individuals without a great deal of e#perience provide them with detailed guidelines on their decision making activities and support them by giving them little fle#ibility. ne interesting conse!uence of making a decision more structured is that the liability for inappropriate decisions is shifted from individual decision makers to the larger company or organization. /nstructured Decisions- &t the other end of the continuum are unstructured decisions. ,hile these have the same components as structured ones9data% process% and evaluation9there is little agreement on their nature. ,ith unstructured decisions% for e#ample% each decision maker may use different data and processes to reach a conclusion. In addition% because of the nature of the decision there may only a limited number of people within the organization !ualified to evaluate the decision.

Semi-Structured Decisions- In the middle of the continuum are semi'structured decisions where most of what are considered to be true decision support systems are focused. Decisions of this type are characterized as having some agreement on the data% process% and)or evaluation to be used% but are also typified by efforts to retain some level of human 4udgment in the decision making process. &n initial step in analyzing which support system is re!uired is to understand where the limitations of the decision maker may be manifested Q0. What are the different !now"ed#e Sharin# techni1ues? What is the difference between Data. !now"ed#e. Information and Wisdom? Ans. :nowledge sharing is an activity through which knowledge -i.e.% information% skills% or e#pertise/ is e#changed among people% friends% families% communities. rganizations have recognized that knowledge constitutes a valuable intangible asset for creating and sustaining competitive advantages. :nowledge sharing activities are generally supported by knowledge management systems. 6owever% technology constitutes only one of the many factors that affect the sharing of knowledge in organizations% such as organizational culture% trust% and incentives. The sharing of knowledge constitutes a ma4or challenge in the field of knowledge management because some employees tend to resist sharing their knowledge with the rest of the organization. :nowledge goes through the stages of creation% mobilization% diffusion and commoditization. 0ew knowledge is ;born< as something fairly nebulous% takes shape as it is tested% matures through application in a few settings% is diffused to a growing audience and eventually becomes widely understood and recognized as common practice. Many ideas die in the creation stage because they fail to generate interest or support% but some become more clearly formed and make it to the mobilization stage. :nowledge creation and knowledge capturing are therefore central processes of knowledge management and form the first phase of knowledge management cycle. Several techni!ues and tools are used to elicit tacit knowledge and to trigger the creation of new knowledge the content of which is subse!uently organized in a systematic manner. Difference between Data% :nowledge% Information and ,isdom' Data - Data is a fact that alone is not significant% as is doesn<t relate to other data. Data may answer a very basic what !uestion5 such as a glossary definition% directory entry% or code listing. 6owever% a definition or code may re!uire knowledge% if the definition or code is comple#. !now"ed#e :nowledge is the application of information. :nowledge addresses how and why% in addition to who% what% where and when. The knowledge links all the information together to produce a comprehensive *olicy% *rocess or *rocedure. :nowledge allows management to gain an accurate and complete picture of the enterprise *olicies% *rocesses% and *rocedures. The *olicies% *rocesses% and *rocedures become transformed into an enterprise asset. Information' Information is data that is related and is therefore in conte#t. It can then be transformed into a *rocess or *rocedure% making it useful. Information is data that relates who% what% where and when to each other% providing a baseline for a *rocess or a *rocedure.,hile information may become input for a *rocess or *rocedure% the level of understanding may limit that *rocess or *rocedure to an individual or department level. "nterprise and more comple# *rocesses and *rocedures re!uire :nowledge.

Wisdom - ,isdom is complete understanding of the effects and outcomes of :nowledge. ,isdom addresses how and why% in addition to who% what% where and when at the "nterprise level. ,isdom allows for *olicies% *rocesses% and *rocedures to be modified so they reflect the strategic vision% functional alignment% best practices and operational ob4ectives of the enterprise. Management is able to standardize *olicies% *rocesses% and *rocedures across enterprise locations% business units and departments. Q2. What are the different data types in SQ&? A"so e+p"ain what are the different chec-s and constraints app"ied on D3MS? Ans. The following table lists the general data types in S3.(
Data type +6&1&+T"1-n/ Description +haracter string. $i#ed'length n

=&1+6&1-n/ or +haracter string. =ariable length. Ma#imum length n +6&1&+T"1 =&1>I0?-n/ BI0&1>-n/ B ."&0 Binary string. $i#ed'length n Stores T12" or $&.S" values or Binary string. =ariable length. Ma#imum length n Integer numerical -no decimal/. *recision p Integer numerical -no decimal/. *recision @ Integer numerical -no decimal/. *recision AB Integer numerical -no decimal/. *recision AC "#act numerical% precision p% scale s. "#ample( decimal-@%D/ is a number that has E digits before the decimal and D digits after the decimal "#act numerical% precision p% scale s. -Same as D"+IM&./ &ppro#imate numerical% mantissa precision p. & floating number in base AB e#ponential notation. The size argument for this type consists of a single number specifying the minimum precision &ppro#imate numerical% mantissa precision F &ppro#imate numerical% mantissa precision AG &ppro#imate numerical% mantissa precision AG Stores year% month% and day values Stores hour% minute% and second values Stores year% month% day% hour% minute% and second values +omposed of a number of integer fields% representing a period of time% depending on the type of interval & set'length and ordered collection of elements & variable'length and unordered collection of elements Stores HM. data

=&1BI0&1>-n/ BI0&1> =&1>I0?-n/ I0T"?"1-p/ SM&..I0T I0T"?"1 BI?I0T D"+IM&.-p%s/ 02M"1I+-p%s/ $. &T-p/

1"&. $. &T D 2B." *1"+ISI 0 D&T" TIM" TIM"ST&M* I0T"1=&. &11&> M2.TIS"T HM.

+onstraints are the rules enforced on data columns on table. These are used to limit the type of data that can go into a table. This ensures the accuracy and reliability of the data in the database. +onstraints could be column level or table level. +olumn level constraints are applied only to one column% whereas table level constraints are applied to the whole table. $ollowing are commonly used constraints available in S3.. 4%( 4/&& Constraint( "nsures that a column cannot have 02.. value. D*5A/&( Constraint6 *rovides a default value for a column when none is specified. /4IQ/* Constraint6 "nsures that all values in a column are different. '7IMA78 !ey6 2ni!uely identified each rows)records in a database table. 5%7*I94 !ey6 2ni!uely identified a rows)records in any another database table. C:*C! Constraint( The +6"+: constraint ensures that all values in a column satisfy certain conditions. I4D*;6 2se to create and retrieve data from the database very !uickly. +onstraints can be specified when a table is created with the +1"&T" T&B." statement or you can use &.T"1 T&B." statement to create constraints even after the table is created. Droppin# Constraints- &ny constraint that you have defined can be dropped using the &.T"1 T&B." command with the D1 * + 0ST1&I0T option. $or e#ample% to drop the primary key constraint in the "M*. >""S table% you can use the following command( &.T"1 T&B." "M*. >""S D1 * + 0ST1&I0T "M*. >""SI*:5 Some implementations may provide shortcuts for dropping certain constraints. $or e#ample% to drop the primary key constraint for a table in racle% you can use the following command( &.T"1 T&B." "M*. >""S D1 * *1IM&1> :">5 Some implementations allow you to disable constraints. Instead of permanently dropping a constraint from the database% you may want to temporarily disable the constraint and then enable it later. Inte#rity Constraints- Integrity constraints are used to ensure accuracy and consistency of data in a relational database. Data integrity is handled in a relational database through the concept of referential integrity. There are many types of integrity constraints that play a role in referential integrity -1I/. These constraints include *rimary :ey% $oreign :ey% 2ni!ue +onstraints and other constraints mentioned above. Q<. &IS( out a"" the Codds 7u"e and *+p"ain each 'oint? Ans. Dr. "dgar $rank +odd was an computer scientist% while working for IBM he invented the relational model for database management. +odd proposed thirteen rules -numbered zero to twelve/ and said that if a Database Management System meets these rules% it can be called as a

1elational Database Management System. These rules are called as +odd7sAD rules. 6ardly any commercial product follows all. 1ule Jero ( The system must !ualify as relational% as a database% and as a management system. $or a system to !ualify as a relational database management system -1DBMS/% that system must useits relational facilities to manage the database. 1ule A ( The information rule( &ll information in the database is to be represented in one and only one way% namely by values in column positions within rows of tables. 1ule D ( The guaranteed access rule( &ll data must be accessible. This rule is essentially a restatement of the fundamental re!uirement for primary keys. It says that every individual scalar value in the database must be logically addressable by specifying the name of the containing table% the name of the containing column and the primary key value of the containing row. 1ule E ( Systematic treatment of null values( The DBMS must allow each field to remain null -or empty/. Specifically% it must support a representation of Kmissing information and inapplicable informationK that is systematic% distinct from all regular values % and independent of data type. It is also implied that such representations must be manipulated by the DBMS in a systematic way. 1ule L ( &ctive online catalog based on the relational model( The system must support an online% inline% relational catalog that is accessible to authorized users by means of their regular !uery language. That is% users must be able to access the database7s structure -catalog/ using the same !uery language that they use to access the database7s data. 1ule @ ( The comprehensive data sub language rule( The system must support at least one relational language that 6as a linear synta# +an be used both interactively and within application programs% Supports data definition operations -including view definitions/% data manipulation operations -update as well as retrieval/% security and integrity constraints% and transaction management operations -begin% commit% and rollback/.

1ule G ( The view updating rule( &ll views those can be updated theoretically% must be updated by the system. 1ule F ( 6igh'level insert% update% and delete( The system must support set'at'a'time insert% update% and delete operators. This means that data can be retrieved from a relational database in sets constructed of data from multiple rows and)or multiple tables. This rule states that insert% update% and delete operations should be supported for any retrievable set rather than 4ust for a single row in a single table. 1ule M ( *hysical data independence( +hanges to the physical level -how the data is stored% whether in arrays or linked lists etc./ must not re!uire a change to an application based on the structure. 1ule C ( .ogical data independence( +hanges to the logical level -tables% columns% rows% and so on/ must not re!uire a change to an application based on the structure. .ogical data independence is more difficult to achieve than physical data independence.

1ule AB ( Integrity independence( Integrity constraints must be specified separately from application programs and stored in the catalog. It must be possible to change such constraints as and when appropriate without unnecessarily affecting e#isting applications. 1ule AA ( Distribution independence( The distribution of portions of the database to various locations should be invisible to users of the database. "#isting applications should continue to operate successfully ( A. when a distributed version of the DBMS is first introduced5 and D. when e#isting distributed data are redistributed around the system. 1ule AD( The non subversion rule( If the system provides a low'level -record'at'a'time/ interface% then that interface cannot be used to subvert the system% for e#ample% bypassing a relational security or integrity constraint.