Records

Question 1

record

Answer 1

a collection of data objects relating to a particular subject or entity

the data items stored in each record can be of different data types

Question 2

databases

Answer 2

large volumes of data are usually stored in databases created using a database management system (DBMS)

the data is stored in tables

each column heading defines a field

Question 3

records in programming languages

Answer 3

some programming languages allow users to create a data structure similar to that used in databases where the items of data can be of different data types

the records are often referred to as ‘structs’

when these are set up, the data type for each element is specified, as the elements can be of different data types

Question 4

Explain what is meant by the following terms:

• record
• field
• key field

[6]

Answer 4

a record is a collection of data about a particular object or entity

a field is one item of data in a record

in every record, one of the fields must contain unique information so that the database management system can identify that record - this field is called the key field

Question 5

A student is creating a database to store their music collection. They have identified the following fields:

• name of artist(s)
• name of song
• length of song
• date of release

a) Explain why none of the fields identified could be used as a key field [2]
b) suggest a suitable key field for the table [2]

Answer 5

a) a key field must contain unique data in each record
all of the fields identified could contain data found in other records

b) a new field such as SongNumber could be created, and a unique number inserted for each song