Database Application Case Study Exam Questions: A Comprehensive Guide41

This comprehensive guide provides a series of exam-style questions focused on database application case studies. These questions are designed to test your understanding of database design, implementation, and practical application in real-world scenarios. Each question encourages critical thinking and the application of theoretical knowledge to practical problems. Remember to approach these questions by carefully analyzing the scenario, identifying the key challenges, and proposing solutions that leverage your understanding of database principles.

Section 1: Conceptual Design & Modeling

Question 1: A local library wants to create a database to manage its book collection, members, and loan transactions. Design an Entity-Relationship Diagram (ERD) for this system. Your ERD should include at least three entities (Books, Members, Loans) with appropriate attributes and relationships. Explain your choices of primary and foreign keys, and justify your chosen relationship cardinalities (one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-many).

Question 2: A small e-commerce business sells handcrafted jewelry. They need a database to manage their products, customers, and orders. Identify the key entities and attributes required for this database. Describe how you would normalize the database to minimize data redundancy and improve data integrity. Explain the normalization form you aim for (e.g., 3NF) and justify your choice.

Section 2: SQL & Data Manipulation

Question 3: Consider a database table named `Customers` with the following attributes: `CustomerID` (INT, Primary Key), `FirstName` (VARCHAR), `LastName` (VARCHAR), `Email` (VARCHAR), `City` (VARCHAR), `Country` (VARCHAR). Write SQL queries to perform the following tasks:
Retrieve all customers from a specific country (e.g., 'USA').
Retrieve the names (FirstName and LastName) of all customers who live in a specific city (e.g., 'New York').
Update the email address of a specific customer.
Delete a customer from the database.

Question 4: A database contains two tables: `Orders` (OrderID, CustomerID, OrderDate, TotalAmount) and `OrderDetails` (OrderDetailID, OrderID, ProductID, Quantity, Price). Write a SQL query to retrieve the total amount spent by each customer. Your query should join the two tables and calculate the sum of `TotalAmount` for each unique `CustomerID`.

Section 3: Database Application & Performance

Question 5: A large online retailer is experiencing slow query performance. Discuss potential causes for slow query performance in a database system. Explain various strategies for improving database performance, such as indexing, query optimization, and database tuning.

Question 6: An airline company uses a database to manage its flight bookings. Describe the challenges involved in designing a database for high concurrency, where many users are simultaneously accessing and updating booking information. Explain strategies for ensuring data consistency and avoiding data conflicts in a high-concurrency environment (e.g., using transactions, locking mechanisms).

Section 4: Data Integrity & Security

Question 7: Discuss the importance of data integrity in a database system. Explain various techniques used to ensure data integrity, such as constraints (e.g., primary key, foreign key, unique, check), triggers, and stored procedures.

Question 8: Describe various security threats to a database system. Explain different approaches to securing a database, including access control, encryption, and auditing. Discuss the importance of regular database backups and disaster recovery planning.

Section 5: Advanced Concepts (Optional)

Question 9: Explain the concept of NoSQL databases and compare and contrast them with relational databases. Discuss suitable use cases for NoSQL databases.

Question 10: Describe the role of a Database Administrator (DBA) and their responsibilities in managing a database system.

These questions are intended as a starting point for your preparation. Remember to consult your course materials and practice with different database systems and scenarios to build your understanding and confidence.

Good luck with your exam!

2025-03-07

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