CSE 511 Week 2 UPDATED ACTUAL
Exam Questions and CORRECT Answers
Describe a file - CORRECT ANSWER -Logical collection of data physically stored as a
set of pages
Name 3 alternative file organizations - CORRECT ANSWER -1. Heap files
2. Sorted files
3. indexes
Describe the characteristics of heap files - CORRECT ANSWER -Heap files have a
header page and then a series of data pages connected and in a random order. Suitable when
accessing a large proportion of stored records, bulk loading datas. Not efficient for selective
queries or sorting
Describe the characteristics of index files - CORRECT ANSWER -Speeds up selections
on search key fields. Think about B+ trees where non-leaf pages have index entries, only used to
direct searches
Correct order of processing speed of major units in a computer from fastest to slowest -
CORRECT ANSWER -1. CPU
2. Cache
3. Memory
4. Hard Disk
What is the name of the software component in a computer that loads pages from hard disk in to
memory? - CORRECT ANSWER -Buffer Manager
What is a benefit of hash-based index - CORRECT ANSWER -Good for equality selection
queries. If you want to select a specific attribute in a database with a specific condition (eg age =
10)
Exam Questions and CORRECT Answers
Describe a file - CORRECT ANSWER -Logical collection of data physically stored as a
set of pages
Name 3 alternative file organizations - CORRECT ANSWER -1. Heap files
2. Sorted files
3. indexes
Describe the characteristics of heap files - CORRECT ANSWER -Heap files have a
header page and then a series of data pages connected and in a random order. Suitable when
accessing a large proportion of stored records, bulk loading datas. Not efficient for selective
queries or sorting
Describe the characteristics of index files - CORRECT ANSWER -Speeds up selections
on search key fields. Think about B+ trees where non-leaf pages have index entries, only used to
direct searches
Correct order of processing speed of major units in a computer from fastest to slowest -
CORRECT ANSWER -1. CPU
2. Cache
3. Memory
4. Hard Disk
What is the name of the software component in a computer that loads pages from hard disk in to
memory? - CORRECT ANSWER -Buffer Manager
What is a benefit of hash-based index - CORRECT ANSWER -Good for equality selection
queries. If you want to select a specific attribute in a database with a specific condition (eg age =
10)
