DBMS Interview Q&A Part- 2

Q1. Can you create a table without using create command ?

A. Yes, we can create table with the help of SELECT INTO statement. It
copies content of one table to another table. However, there should be
at least one table from where we can copy content.
Example : Copying all columns : select * into new_table from old_table where
condition
Copying specific column : select col1,col2 into new_table from old_table
where condition
Creating new empty table : select * into new_table from old_table where 1
= 0

Q2. What is Denormalization ?

A. It is the reverse process of Normalization. It is the process of trying to
improve the readability of the database by grouping data. Denormalization
is also used for speeding up the performance.

Q3. What are Joins ?

A. Join clause are used to combine rows from two or more tables,
depending upon the columns between them.

Q4. What are the different types of Joins ?

A. Different types of Joins are :

  1. INNER JOIN : It returns all records that are common in both tables.
  2. LEFT OUTER JOIN : It returns all records from the left table, and matched records from right table
  3. RIGHT OUTER JOIN : It returns all records from the right table, and matched records from left table.
  4. FULL OUTER JOIN : It returns all records when there is a match in either left or right table.
Q5. Explain Transaction ?

A. Transaction refers to the collection of multiple statements, that are
responsible for transferring a database from one consistent state to another
consistent state.

Q6. Explain the role of views in database ?

A.View refers to the virtual table. We can create view using create view
statement.

CREATE VIEW as Select col1
FROM table1
where CONDITION;
Q7. Explain Trigger ?

A. Triggers are defined as special kind of stored programs, which are
automatically executed whenever a specific operation occurs in the
database server.

Q8. What are Locks ?

A. Locking is the mechanism to protect data integrity and ensure data
consistency during transactions. Locks are the most common cause of
blocked processes. Stronger the Isolation level, more the chances of
blocking.

Q9. Explain different types of Locks ?

A. Locks are broadly characterized into following types :

Shared Locks : These locks are acquired by readers during read
operations. In other words, these locks exist when two transactions are
granted read access. Data updation is not allowed until shared lock is
released.
Exclusive Locks : In exclusive lock, data items can be both read as well
as written by the transaction. In Exclusive lock, multiple transactions do not
modify the same data simultaneously.

Q10. What is Super Key ?

A. An attribute or set of attributes that uniqueness in database is refered to
as Super key. It is the superset of Candidate key.

Q11. What is Candidate Key ?

A. A minimal set of attribute/attributes that can be used to uniquely identify
a single row in a given relation is refered to as Candidate key.

Q12. Explain Primary Key ?

A. DB Designer selects one of the candidate key as primary key for a
relation for the purpose of identification of a tuple uniquely. It is identified
during table creation.

Q13. What is Composite Key ?

A. If a primary key has more than one attribute, then it is referred to as
Composite key.

Q14. Explain Foreign Key ?

A. A set of attribute/attributes that is used to establish and enforce a link
between data in two or more relations.

Q15. Can a table have more than one primary key ?

A. No.

Q16. Can We Have NULL Value in Primary Key?

A. No.

Q17. What are cursors ?

A. A cursor is a temporary work area created in system memory when a
SQL statement is executed. A cursor can hold more than one row, but can
process only one row at a time.

Q18.What are the differences between Hash join, Merge join and Nested loops?
Hash joinMerge joinNested loops
The hash join is used when you have to join large tables.Merge join is used when projections of the joined tables are sorted on the join columns.The nested loop consists of an outer loop and an inner loop.
Q19. What do you understand by Proactive, Retroactive and Simultaneous Update ?
  1. Proactive Update: These updates are applied to the database before it becomes effective in the real-world environment.
  2. Retroactive Update: These retroactive updates are applied to a database after it becomes effective in the real-world environment.
  3. Simultaneous Update: These updates are applied to the database at the same instance of time as it becomes effective in a real-world environment.
Q20.What do you understand by Data Independence?

A. When you say an application has data independence, it implies that the application is independent of the storage structure and data access strategies of data.

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DBMS Interview Q&A Part- 1

Q. What is Data ?

A. Data refers to raw facts and figures that can be recorded.

Q. What is Database ?

A. Database refers to the collection of interrelated and coherent data.

Q. Explain DBMS ?

A. DBMS stands for Database Management System. It is a software
package designed to define, manipulate, retrieve and manage data in
database.

Q. Why DBMS ?

A. To make information easy to access and protected, we use database
management systems. DBMS is important because it manages the data
efficiently and allow users to perform multiple tasks on it with the ease.

Q. What is a database system?

A. The collection of database and DBMS software together is known as a
database system.

Q. What do you mean by Data Modelling ?

A. Data Modelling is the set of conceptual tools for describing data
relationship, data semantics, and consistency constraints. Different data
models are : Network model, Relational model, Object Oriented model, ER
model, and more.

Q. Explain RDBMS ?

A. RDBMS stands for Relational Database Management System. It
arranges information into allied rows and columns. RDMS is an information
management system which is oriented on a data model. RDBMS Example
systems are SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, MariaDB and SQLite.

Q. Explain Abstraction of Data, with reference to DBMS ?

A. Data Abstraction refers to the process of hiding background details from
user.

Q. Explain the 3 L’s of Data Abstraction ?

A. It refers to three levels of abstraction. They are :

  1. Physical Level : It is lowest level of abstraction. It describes how data is
    actually stored. It also describes complex data structure in detail.
  2. Logical Level : It describes what data get stored in the database and what are the relationships among them.
  3. View Level : It is the highest level of data abstraction that only describes a part of database indirectly
Q. What is Database Schema ?

A. Schema refers to the overall structure of database without data values.

Q. What do you mean by transparent DBMS?

A. The transparent DBMS is a type of DBMS which keeps its physical
structure hidden from users.

Q. Explain ER Model ?

A. This model is based on the perception of real world that consists of
collection of basic entities and relationship among these objects. It is the
graphical representation of the database.

Q. What do you understand by Data Independency ?

A. It refers to the capacity to change data at one level without affecting next
higher level is called Data Independence. It is of two types : Physical DI,
Logical DI.
Physical DI : It indicates that physical storage of device could be changed
without affecting conceptual view.
Logical DI : It indicates that conceptual schema can be changed without
affecting existing external schema.

Q. What is a Database Language ?

A. Database Language is a medium by which we can interact with the
database system through some set of commands. These commands are
structured.

Q. What is a Tuple ?

A. A single row of a table, which contains a single record for that relation is
called a tuple.

Q. Explain degree and Cardinality ?

A. Degree is the total number of attributes in a relation or table and
cardinality is total number of tuples/rows in a relation/table.

Q. What is a relation in DBMS ?

A. A database relation refers to an individual table in a relational database.
A table is a relation because it stores the relation between data in its
column-row format.

Q. What is the role of DML Compiler ?

A. It translates DML statements in a query language into low-level
instructions that the query evaluation engine can easily understand.

Q. Explain me the role of using clause for queries ?

A. Clause enables you to specify conditions that filters the results as per
the requirement. Some of the most commonly used clauses are : having,
where etc.

Q. What is a Query ?

A. Query is a statement that is used for the extraction of data from
database.
For example – select * from table1 is a query

Q. What is Subquery ?

A. Subquery is a query within query.
For example – select * from students where marks = ( select max(marks)
from students);

Q. Explain BCNF ?

A. BCNF is Boyce-Codd Normal Form. It is considered to be the advanced
version of 3 NF. Hence it is also refered to as 3.5 NF. A relation is said to
be in BCNF, if it satisfies following rules :

  1. It is in 3NF.
  2. For every functional dependency P->Q, P should be the super key of the table.
Q. What are Stored Procedures ?

A. Stored Procedure refers to the set of Structured Query Language(SQL)
statements stored in a relational database management system as a group.
It can further be reused and shared by multiple programs. It provides a
layer of security between a user interface and database.

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