Quiz 8 - Database Management

1. Define the term, database, and explain how a database interacts with data and information.

A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality (for example, the availability of rooms in hotels), in a way that supports processes requiring this information (for example, finding a hotel with vacancies).

2. Describe file maintenance techniques (adding records, modifying records, deleting records) and validation techniques.


File Maintenance  refers to the procedures that keep data current.
- Adding Records users add new records to a file when they obtain new data Disc
- Modifying Records users modify a record to correct inaccurate data or update old data
- Deleting Records When a record no longer is needed, a user deletes it from a file
- Validation Techniques compares data with a set of rules or values to find out if the data is correct  

• Alphabetic/Numeric check
• Range check
• Consistency check
• Completeness check
• Check digit
• Other checks

3. Discuss the terms character, field, record, and file.

Character - Eight bits grouped together in a unit form a byte, and each byte represents a single character, which can be a number, letter, space, punctuation mark, or other symbol.

Field - is a combination of one or more related characters and is the smallest unit of data a user accesses.

Record - is a group of related fields.

File - is a collection of related records stored on a storage medium.

4. Discuss the functions common to most database management systems: data dictionary, file retrieval and maintenance, data security, and backup and recovery.

Data dictionary, or metadata repository, as defined in the IBM Dictionary of Computing, is a "centralized repository of information about data such as meaning, relationships to other data, origin, usage, and format.

File maintenance - refers to the procedures that keep data current. It include adding records when new data is obtained, modifying records to correct inaccurate data or to update old data with new data, and deleting records when they no longer are needed.  

Backup - is the copy of the database.

Recovery Utility - uses the logs and/or backups to restore the database.

5. Differentiate between a file processing approach and the database approach.

File processing approach - each department or area within an organization has its own set of data files.

Database Approach -Many programs and users share the data in a database. Reduces data redundancy, improves data integrity, shares data, permits easier access, and reduces development time.

6. Describe characteristics of relational, object-oriented, and multidimensional databases.

Relational Database - is a database that stores data in tables that consist of rows and columns. Each row has a primary key and each column has a unique name.

Object - oriented database (OODB) - stores data in objects. An object is an item that contains data, as well as the actions that read or process the data.

Multidimensional database - stores data in dimensions and can store more than two dimensions of data.

7. Explain how to access Web databases.


Web database  database you can access through web by filing in a form in a web page.
A Web database links to a form on a Web page. To access data in a Web database, you fill on the form or enter search text on a Web page. A Web database usually resides on a database server, which is a computer that store and provides access to a database

8. Define the term, computer security risks, and briefly describe the types of cybercrime perpetrators: hacker, cracker, script kiddie, corporate spy, unethical employee, cyberextortionist, and cyberterrorist.

Computer security is a branch of computer technology known as Information Security as applied to computers and networks. The objective of computer security includes protection of information and property from theft, corruption, or natural disaster, while allowing the information and property to remain accessible and productive to its intended users. 

Cybercrime Perpetrators

Hacker refers to a computer programmer who is able to create usable computer programs where none previously existed. 

Cracker is a variation of hacker , with the analogy equal to a safe cracker. Some individuals use the term cracker in an attempt to differentiate from the honorable computer programmer definition of hacker.

Script kiddy is an individual who executes computer scripts and programs written by others. Their motive is to hack a computer by using someone else’s software. Examples include password decryption programs and automated access utilities.

Corporate Spy - have excellent computer and networking skills and are hired to break into a specific computer and steal its proprietary data and information.

Unethical employee - break into their employers' computer for a variety of reasons. Some simply want to exploit security weakness.

Cyberextortionist - is someone who uses e-mail as a vehicle for extortion. These perpetrator s send an organization a threatening e-mail message indicating they will expose confidential information, exploit a security flaw, or launch an attack that will compromise the organization s network - if they are not paid of a sum of money.

Cyber-terrorist - a programmer who breaks into computer systems in order to steal or change or destroy information as a form of cyber-terrorism.

9. Identify database design guidelines and discuss the responsibilities of database analysts and administrators.

Database Analysts and Database Administrators are responsible for managing and coordinating all database activities. 

Database Analysts (DA) - focuses on the meaning and usage of data. The DA decides on the placement of fields, defines the relationships among data, and identifies user's access privilege.

Database Administrators (DBA) requires a more technical inside view of the data. The DBA creates and maintains the data dictionary, manages data security, monitors database performance, and checks backup and recovery procedures