DATA MANAGEMENT FOUNDATIONS 2026
COMPLETE STUDY GUIDE
◉ Define: Referential Integrity. Answer: Requires that ALL foreign
key values must either be fully NULL or match some primary key
value.
◉ 4 Ways Referential Integrity can be violated. Answer: 1. Primary
key is updated 2. Foreign key is updated 3. Row containing primary
key is DELETED 4. Row containing foreign key is INSERTED.
◉ Actions to Correct Referential Integrity Violation. Answer: 1.
RESTRICT - rejects an insert, update, or delete 2. SET NULL - sets
invalid foreign keys to null 3. SET DEFAULT - sets invalid foreign
keys to a default primary value 4. CASCADE - propagates primary
key changes to foreign keys.
◉ What is an Important aspect of Referential Integrity. Answer:
Reference to data in one relation is based on values in another
relation.
◉ What is Broad definition of data. Answer: Raw facts captured on
printed or digital media.
,◉ What Data. Answer: Facts that are collected and stored in a
database system.
◉ Determining characteristic of unstructured data. Answer: It does
not follow a data model.
◉ Flat files. Answer: They contain no internal hierarchical
organization.
◉ Data retrieval before database management systems. Answer:
Sequentially from simple files.
◉ Primary Key. Answer: An attribute or group of attributes that
uniquely identify a tuple in a relation.
◉ Foreign Key matching. Answer: A domain of values is necessary
for a primary key in one relation of a database to match with its
corresponding foreign key in another relation of the same database.
◉ Alternate Key. Answer: What uniquely identifies each entity in a
collection of entities but is not the primary key.
,◉ Candidate Key. Answer: A set of columns in a table that can
uniquely identify any record in that table without referring to other
data.
◉ Database indexing. Answer: The original data is copied to the
index.
◉ Indexes in physical database design. Answer: To retrieve data
DIRECTLY using a pointer.
◉ Index creation on a database column. Answer: To optimize data
retrievals.
◉ Functional Dependency. Answer: Each value of a column relates to
at MOST one value of another column.
◉ Rules/Appearance of First Normal Form. Answer: - All non-key
columns depend on primary key - Each table cell contains one value
- A table with no duplicate rows.
◉ Rules/Appearance of Second Normal Form. Answer: - When all
non-key columns depend on the WHOLE primary key - Must be in
1NF - Non-key column can not depend on just one part of a
composite key - a single primary key is automatically in 2NF.
, ◉ Rules/Appearance of Third Normal Form. Answer: - All non-key
columns depend ONLY on the primary key - Tables are totally free of
data redundancy.
◉ Differences between operational and analytical databases.
Answer: - Volatility - Detail - Scope - History.
◉ Volatility. Answer: Database updates in real time. Operational
Data is Volatile. Analytical Data is NOT Volatile.
◉ Detail in databases. Answer: - A database that keeps record of
individual transactions; line items - Operational: Detailed -
Analytical: Detailed.
◉ Scope in databases. Answer: - How far a database can reach -
Operational: incompatible - Analytical: Enterprise-Wide/Summary.
◉ History in databases. Answer: - Whether DB is current or tracks
all data - Operational: Current only - Analytical: Tracks trends.
◉ Data warehouse refresh process. Answer: 1. Extraction 2. Cleanse
3. Integrate 4. Restructure 5. Load.
COMPLETE STUDY GUIDE
◉ Define: Referential Integrity. Answer: Requires that ALL foreign
key values must either be fully NULL or match some primary key
value.
◉ 4 Ways Referential Integrity can be violated. Answer: 1. Primary
key is updated 2. Foreign key is updated 3. Row containing primary
key is DELETED 4. Row containing foreign key is INSERTED.
◉ Actions to Correct Referential Integrity Violation. Answer: 1.
RESTRICT - rejects an insert, update, or delete 2. SET NULL - sets
invalid foreign keys to null 3. SET DEFAULT - sets invalid foreign
keys to a default primary value 4. CASCADE - propagates primary
key changes to foreign keys.
◉ What is an Important aspect of Referential Integrity. Answer:
Reference to data in one relation is based on values in another
relation.
◉ What is Broad definition of data. Answer: Raw facts captured on
printed or digital media.
,◉ What Data. Answer: Facts that are collected and stored in a
database system.
◉ Determining characteristic of unstructured data. Answer: It does
not follow a data model.
◉ Flat files. Answer: They contain no internal hierarchical
organization.
◉ Data retrieval before database management systems. Answer:
Sequentially from simple files.
◉ Primary Key. Answer: An attribute or group of attributes that
uniquely identify a tuple in a relation.
◉ Foreign Key matching. Answer: A domain of values is necessary
for a primary key in one relation of a database to match with its
corresponding foreign key in another relation of the same database.
◉ Alternate Key. Answer: What uniquely identifies each entity in a
collection of entities but is not the primary key.
,◉ Candidate Key. Answer: A set of columns in a table that can
uniquely identify any record in that table without referring to other
data.
◉ Database indexing. Answer: The original data is copied to the
index.
◉ Indexes in physical database design. Answer: To retrieve data
DIRECTLY using a pointer.
◉ Index creation on a database column. Answer: To optimize data
retrievals.
◉ Functional Dependency. Answer: Each value of a column relates to
at MOST one value of another column.
◉ Rules/Appearance of First Normal Form. Answer: - All non-key
columns depend on primary key - Each table cell contains one value
- A table with no duplicate rows.
◉ Rules/Appearance of Second Normal Form. Answer: - When all
non-key columns depend on the WHOLE primary key - Must be in
1NF - Non-key column can not depend on just one part of a
composite key - a single primary key is automatically in 2NF.
, ◉ Rules/Appearance of Third Normal Form. Answer: - All non-key
columns depend ONLY on the primary key - Tables are totally free of
data redundancy.
◉ Differences between operational and analytical databases.
Answer: - Volatility - Detail - Scope - History.
◉ Volatility. Answer: Database updates in real time. Operational
Data is Volatile. Analytical Data is NOT Volatile.
◉ Detail in databases. Answer: - A database that keeps record of
individual transactions; line items - Operational: Detailed -
Analytical: Detailed.
◉ Scope in databases. Answer: - How far a database can reach -
Operational: incompatible - Analytical: Enterprise-Wide/Summary.
◉ History in databases. Answer: - Whether DB is current or tracks
all data - Operational: Current only - Analytical: Tracks trends.
◉ Data warehouse refresh process. Answer: 1. Extraction 2. Cleanse
3. Integrate 4. Restructure 5. Load.
