Unit 1 - Relational Database Model Flashcards
ACID
An acronym that stands for atomicity, consistency, isolation and durability of data.
Analytical Databases
A specialized type of database designed for storing, retrieving, and analyzing large volumes of data.
API
Application Programming Interface:
A set of rules, protocols, and tools that allow different software applications to communicate with each other.
Associative Entity
An entity that exists only to associate data in one entity with data in another.
Attribute
A single piece of information within a record, also known as a field. (column)
Back End
The part of the database system responsible for managing and storing data, including the DBMS and the physical storage devices. The back end is not directly accessible to end users.
Business Analytics
The practice of using data analysis and statistical techniques to drive informed business decision making.
Business Rule
Specific constraints and requirements that govern how data should be stored, processed, and managed in a database.
Cardinality
AKA Multiplicity
Defines relationships in terms of whether they are one-to-one, one-to-many, or many-to-many.
Chen Notation
A visual representation technique for entity-relationship modeling that uses rectangles to represent entities, diamonds for relationships, and lines to represent cardinality and participation constraints.
Class
A grouping of similar objects with shared attributes and behaviors.
Columnar Data Storage
Storing data in columns rather than in rows.
Columns
The individual attributes of a table, also called fields. They are usually of the same data type and can contain various data, such as numbers, text, and dates.
Common Business-Oriented Language (COBOL)
A popular programming language for data processing; systems were designed to handle batch processing rather than real-time transactions.
Common Table Expressions (CTEs)
A feature introduced in ANSI SQL that allows temporary result sets for complex queries.
Conceptual Data Model
A high-level representation of a system’s data requirements and structure that establishes the entities, their attributes, and relationships between entities in a relational database.
Concurrency
The ability for multiple users or processes to access and change a file simultaneously.
Connection Pooling
A technique for managing and reusing database connections.
Constraints
A rule that restricts the values that can be stored in a column or a table. Constraints are used to ensure the integrity of the data in a database.
Crow’s Foot Notation
A graphical representation technique uses various symbols to represent cardinality, relationships, attributes, and relationships between entities, such as crow’s feet, lines, and diamonds.
Data
Known as “raw facts,” the data we collect, like phone numbers or addresses.
Data Definition Language (DDL)
Commands that create and remove schema components in a database.
Data Manipulation Language (DML)
Commands that allow interaction with the data in a database.
Data Masking
A method of anonymization that replaces sensitive data with consistent, nonsensitive values.
Data Migration
The process of transferring data from one database to another while ensuring the data’s integrity, accuracy, and consistency.
Data Warehouse
A backend enterprise-level system used for storing data that is used for analysis and reporting.
Database
A structured and organized collection of data that is stored electronically.
Database Administrator (DBA)
A user of the database management system who ensures that the database is running correctly.
Database Designer
A database architect of the database who ensures that it fits the business needs and functions optimally.
Database Locking
A mechanism for controlling access to a database in a multiuser environment.
Decision Support System (DSS)
A computer-based tool that helps individuals and organizations make informed decisions by providing access to data, analysis, and interactive tools to support the decision-making process.
Delimiter
A sequence of one or more characters for specifying the boundary between separate, independent regions in plain text, mathematical expressions, or other data streams.
Disk Caching
A way to improve performance by reducing the need to access physical storage for frequently accessed data.
Document-Oriented Database
A non-relational database that pairs a key with a complex data structure.
Encapsulation
Groups data and operations that operate on it into a single entity.
End User
The user of the applications to run the day-to-day operations of the organization.
End-User Interface
Where ordinary database users interact with the data.
Entity Relationship (ER) Model
A visual representation that illustrates the structure and relationships within a database or data model.
Entity-Relationship Diagram (ERD)
Used to visualize the relationships among entities (objects or concepts) in a system or database, as well as their structure, attributes, and interactions.
Extended Relational Database Model (ERDM)
Extensions of traditional relational database models that add enhanced functionality. A relational model based on ERDM introduces object-oriented concepts, such as inheritance, encapsulation, and methods.
Flat File
A data file that is not related to or does not contain any linkages to another file.
Foreign Key
A column or a combination of columns that refers to the primary key of another table.
Fragmentation
A condition in which a file is not stored contiguously on the disk, so the read/write head has to move around, picking up the pieces of the file when it is requested.
Front End
A user interface or application that enables users to interact with a database without directly interacting with the underlying DBMS.
Graph Store
A non-relational database that links data through edges, nodes, and properties.
Graphical User Interface (GUI)
A type of user interface through which users interact with electronic devices via visual indicator representations.
Hardware
CPU, RAM, and disk drive speed all have an influence on how well a database runs on a computer system.
Hierarchical Model
A database model that consists of a series of one-to-many relationships, with each parent item having one or more child items.
Hierarchical Models
Databases that store data as records and organize them into a tree-like structure where one parent node has many child nodes connected to it through links.
In-Memory Databases
Databases that rely primarily on memory for data storage and retrieval.
Indexes
An index is a data structure that speeds up the retrieval of data from a table. Indexes are created on columns that are frequently used in queries.
Indexing Bottleneck
Occurs when the process of maintaining and updating indexes becomes a performance bottleneck.
Information
Data in a context that gives it meaning.
Inheritance
OODM uses inheritance to organize and structure data models. For example, objects inherit attributes and methods from classes.
Input/Output (I/O) Bottleneck
Occurs when there is a bandwidth limitation in reading from or writing to the storage device.
Isolation Level
The degree to which one transaction must be isolated from the effects of other concurrent transactions.
JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)
A lightweight, popular data interchange format commonly used in databases. Using it, one can represent data using key-value pairs or nested structures in a readable, easy-to-understand format.
Key-Value Store
A simple non-relational database that pairs each key with a single value.