Text Assignment 1

Ramont Glover

1/26/13

Text Assignment 1

ITFN 1201

1.4 What is a modification problem? What are the three possible types of ­modification problems?

* A modification problem is when changing information causes data to be deleted, duplicated, or incomplete. The three types of modification problems are inserting, updating, and deleting data.

1.7 What is an ID column?

* An ID column is a data entry used to categorize information in the table (i.e. Laker ID).

1.10 What does SQL stand for, and what purpose does it serve?

* Structured Query Language (SQL) allows you to reconstruct lists from their underlying tables, query for specific data conditions, perform computations on data in tables, and insert, update, and delete data.

1.15 Name the four components of a database system.

* The four components of a database system are user, DBMS, database, and database application.

1.16 Define the term database.

* A database is a self-describing collection of related records.

1.17 Why do you think it is important for a database to be self-describing?

* It is important for the database to be self-describing so that the contents of the database can be easily seen without having to look elsewhere for it.

1.24 Define the term referential integrity constraint. Give an example of a referential integrity constraint for the tables you created for question 1.8.

* Referential integrity constraint is a relationship constraint on foreign key values that specifies that the values of a foreign key must be a proper subset of the values of the primary key to which it refers (i.e. If a pet name was entered without an owner phone number to go along with it.)

1.29 Summarize the differences between the database systems in Figure 1-23 and Figure 1-26.

* In Figure 1-23, the personal database system uses Microsoft Access or other personal DBMS so that the user can create a simple database system for personal use and both the database application and the DBMS...