Physical database designing is used for good performance while the process of structuring data in the storage.Factors influencing physical database designLet us see the important factors that influence physical database design −Transactions and queriesIt is important to understand what kind of transactions and queries will be run and what use will the database serve.Following information about the queries should be needed −Files that will query access.Selection conditions to be specified for the query.Type of selection conditions to be used in query whether equality, range, or inequality.Join conditions to be used in the query.Need for linking tables for query optimization.Following information ... Read More

For any stored data if we want to preserve the consistency and correctness, a relational DBMS typically imposes one or more data integrity constraints. These constraints restrict the data values which can be inserted into the database or created by a database update.Data Integrity ConstraintsThere are different types of data integrity constraints that are commonly found in relational databases, including the following −Required data − Some columns in a database contain a valid data value in each row; they are not allowed to contain NULL values. In the sample database, every order has an associated customer who placed the order. ... Read More

A B-tree is a self-balancing tree in data structures that allows efficient storage of sorted data. Each node can hold multiple keys and have many child nodes. B-trees are versatile data structures that can efficiently handle large amounts of data. However, traditional binary search trees become inefficient for storing and searching large datasets due to their lower performance and high memory usage. B-trees, balanced trees, are self-balancing trees designed to overcome these limitations. B-trees are characterized by the large number of keys that can be stored in a single node, often called "large key" trees. Each node in a ... Read More

Let us first try to understand why we are using B-tree. Then, we will get a clarity on the definition of B-tree.Reasons for using B-treeThe reasons for using B-tree are as follows −When searching tables on disc, the cost of accessing the disk is high but it doesn’t bother about the amount of data transferred. So our aim is to minimize disc access.We know that we cannot improve the height of trees. So, we wish to make the height of the tree as small as possible.The solution for this is to use a B-tree, it has more branches and thus ... Read More

The advantages and disadvantages of some of the collision resolution techniques are explained below −Separate Chaining hashingSeparate chaining is a hashing technique in which there is a list to handle collisions. So there are many elements at the same position and they are in a list. The sequences are maintained in a linked list.The advantages of separate chaining hashing are as follows −Separate chaining technique is not sensitive to the size of the table.The idea and the implementation are simple.The disadvantages of separate chaining hashing are as follows −Keys are not evenly distributed in separate chaining.Separate chaining can lead to ... Read More

Collision is a problem that occurs when two keys applied on a hash table map to the same location in the hash table.There are two techniques that are used to avoid collision they are −Linear probing.Chaining.Let us discuss each technique in detail.Linear probingLinear probing is a strategy for resolving collisions. In this the new key is placed in the closest following empty cell.Here the elements are stored wherever the hash function maps into a hash table, if that cell is filled then the next consecutive location is searched to store that value. Here generally we use arrays.Step 1 − Let ... Read More

Hashed file organisation is also called a direct file organisation.In this method, for storing the records a hash function is calculated, which provides the address of the block to store the record. Any type of mathematical function can be used as a hash function. It can be simple or complex.Hash function is applied to columns or attributes to get the block address. The records are stored randomly. So, it is also known as Direct or Random file organization.If the generated hash function is on the column which is considered as key, then the column can be called as hash key ... Read More

In secondary Index (Unique value) is created for each record in a data file which is a candidate key. Secondary index is a type of dense index and also called a non clustering index.Secondary mapping size will be small as the two levels DB indexing is used.While creating the index, generally the index table is kept in the primary memory and the main table is kept in secondary memory because of its size.A table may contain thousands of records for this reason the sparse index becomes so large which cannot be handled in primary memory.Also, if we cannot keep the ... Read More

Different organizations have struggled with their management information systems and their membership databases. The main struggle here is the lack of centralized information. Too often, assurance and non-profits keep separate databases for membership, events, sales, and other processes. When at all feasible, these databases should be combined into a single, centralized database.Advantages of centralized database over other databasesThe advantages of centralized database over other databases are explained below −Data integrity − In a centralized database the data integrity is maximized and data redundancy is minimized, as the single storing place of all the data also implies that a given set ... Read More

A distributed database is the one where all the storage devices are not attached to a common CPU (central processing unit). It may be distributed over a network of interconnected computers, or it may be stored in multiple computers located in the same physical location.Distributed Database Management SystemA distributed database management system (DDBMS) manages the database as in if it is stored in the same computer.The DDBMS synchronizes all the data in a periodical manner and in situations when multiple users are accessing the same data and ensures that updation and deletion performed on the data at one location shall ... Read More