ADVANCED DATABASE TECHNOLOGY

TUTORIAL QUESTIONS
Question 1
(a) What is a Database?
(b) Explain the difference between two-tier and three-tier architecture. Which is better
suited for the web applications? Why?
(c) There are a large number of commercial database systems in use today such as IBM,
DB2, Oracte, Microsoft, SQL server, Sy base, MySQL, and IBM Informix. Discuss any Two of
the commercial database system.
Question 2
(a) Consider the following expressions, which use the result of a relational algebra
operation as the input to another operation. For each expression, explain in words that the
expression does.
(i) year_2016 (takes) Students
(ii) year_2016 (takes Students)
(iii) ID, name, course id (Students takes)
(b) Consider the relational database
Emplyee (person-name, street, city)
Works (person-name, company name, salary)
Company (company-name, city)
Give an expression in the relational algebra to express each of the following queries:
(i) Find the names of all employees who live in city Ijagun
(ii) Find the names of all employees whose salary is greater than N150,000.
(iii) Find the names of all employees who live in Ijagun and whose salary is greater
than N150,000.
(c) In tabular form, briefly differentiate between the following Data Models
(i) Relational (ii) Hierarchical (iii) Network

Question 3
(a) Create table for student schema using the following
(i) Identification of Matric_NO as key
(ii) First.name (first_Name) must be defined
(iii) Age must not be empty and above 25
(iv) Fill the student table with 15 relations
(b) Consider the following relational schemas for ABC Community Bank database
branch (branch_name, branch_city, assets)
customer (customer_name, customer_street, customer_city)
loan (loan_number, branch_name, amount)
borrower (customer_name, loan_number)
 account (account_number, branch_name, balance)
depositor (customer_name, account_number)
Give an expression in the relational algebra for each of the following queries:
(i) Find the names of all branches located in ABC.
(ii) Find the names of all borrowers who have a loan in branch Down-town.
(c) Consider the bank database of 3(b)
(i) What are the appropriate primary keys?
(ii) Given your choice of primary keys, identify appropriate foreign keys.

Question 4
(a) Suppose that we decompose the schema R = (A, B, C, D, E) into
(A, B, C)
(A, D, E)
Show that this de composition is loss lee-join decomposition if the following set F of functional
dependencies holds:
A BC
CD E
B D
E A
(b) Use Armstrongs axioms to prove the soundness of the union rule. (Hint: use the
augmentation rule to show that, if a b, then a ab. Apply the augmentation rule again,
using a g, and then apply the transitivity rule).
(c) Use Armstrongs axioms to prove the soundness of the pseudo transitivity rule.
(D) Discuss the significance of Normalization in Database Systems. Hence, With a typical
example each, explain 1NF, 2NF, 3NF and BCNF

Question 5
(a) what steps must be completed before database design is fully implemented? (make sure
you fellow the correct sequence and discuss each briefly).
(b) Convert the entity Relationship diagram below to a relational database schema.
(c) Derive an ODL description of courses and lab courses.

chair
name
number

room Given By Dept

Courses
Courses

Is a

Lab Computer
Courses Allocation

Entity-Relationship diagram for courses and lab courses

Question 6
(a) Database system implementess have paid much more attention to the ACID properties
than have file-system implementers why might this be the case?
(b) Justify the following statement: Concurrent execution of transaction is more important
when data must be fetched from (slow) disk or when transactions are long, and is less
important when data are in memory and transactions are very short.
(c) What is cascade less schedule? Why is cascade lessness of schedules desirable? Are
there any circumstances under which it would be desirable to allow noncascadeless schedule?
Explain your answer.

Question 7
(a)(i) What are the typical security classifications?
(ii) Discuss the simple security property and explain the justification behind these rules for
enforcing multi level security.
(b)(i) Discuss the types of privileges at the account level and those at the relation level.
(ii) What is the difference between discretionary and mandatory access control?
(iii) Why is data replication useful in DD BMSs?
(c)(i) What typical units of data are replicated ?
(ii) What are the main software modules of a DDBMS?
(iii) Discuss the main functions of each of these modules in the context of the client-server
architecture.

Question 8

(a) Within the context of database systems, what do you understand by Concurrency
Control schemes?
(b) Show that the two-phase locking protocol ensures conflict serializability and that
transactions can be serialized according to their lock points.
(c) Consider the following two transactions:
T34 : read(A);
read(B);
if A =0 then B=B+1;
write(B).
T35 : read(B);
read(A);
if B =0 than A=A+1;
write(A).

Add lock and unlock instructions to transactions T31 and T32 , so that they observe the two-
phase locking protocol. Can the execution of these transactions result in a deadlock?

Question 9
(a ) What is functional dependency ? List six well known inference rules for
functional dependencies
(b) Why is database normalization necessary?.
(c ) Write a comprehensive report on the design and implementation of an
application using Microsoft Access. / SQL

Question 10

(a) What Functional Dependency? How is it different from transitive dependency?

(b) Consider a relationship with scheme B ( A, B, C, D) and Functional dependencies

AB C, C D and D A.

(i) What are all the non-trivial functional dependencies that follow from the given
dependencies
(ii) What are all the keys of R
(iii) What are all the super keys of R that are not keys.
 (c) Let X and Y be sets of attributes, show that if x Y then X+ Y+, where the closures are
taken with respect to the same set of functional dependencies.

Question 11
(a) Within the context of Database systems, explain the meaning of transaction
processing
(b) What is meant by the concurrent execution of database transactions in a multi-
user system?. Discuss why concurrent control is needed and give informal
examples.
(c ) Discuss the ACID preservation properties of a database transaction

Question 12
Construct a B+ tree for the following set of key values

(2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31)

Assume that the tree is initially empty and values are added in ascending order.
Construct a B+ tree for the cases where the number of pointers that will fit in one
node as follows:

a. Four b. six c. Eight

Question 13
(a) Design a database for an airline. The database must keep track of customers and their
reservations, flights and their status, seat assignments on individual flights, and the
schedule and routing of future flights.

Your design should include an E-R diagram, a set of relational schemas, and a list of
constraints, including primary-key and foreign-key constraints.

(b) Construct an E-R diagram for a hospital with a set of patients and a set of medical
doctors. Associate with each patient a log of the various tests and examinations
conducted.
(c) What do you understand by Mapping Cardinality ?
(d) Explain the difference between a weak and a strong entity set.