Chapter 14: Problem 1

Define the following terms: indexing field, primary key field, clustering field, secondary key freld, block anchor, dense index, and nondense (sparse) index.

Short Answer

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Indexing Field improves search speed in a database. Primary Key Field uniquely identifies records. Clustering Field organizes records with similar attributes. Secondary Key Field helps in retrieving data. Block Anchor points to specific blocks in indexed sequential files. Dense Index has a record for every search key, while Nondense (Sparse) Index only has records for some keys.

Step by step solution

Defining Indexing Field

The Indexing Field is the attribute of a database table, and it is used to speed up the search and retrieval process within a database. The index accomplishes this by providing swift access to the data blocks of the database table, similar to a book's index.

Defining Primary Key Field

The Primary Key Field is an attribute (or combination of attributes) which uniquely identifies each record within a database table. There cannot be two records in a table that possess the same primary key value.

Defining Clustering Field

A Clustering Field is a field that is neither the primary key nor the secondary key but is used for data organization. Records with the similar clustering field are kept together on the storage disk.

Defining Secondary Key Field

A Secondary Key Field is an attribute which is not a primary key but is used for retrieval purposes. It can allow access to the records in order other than the primary key sequence.

Defining Block Anchor

A Block Anchor is a pointer in an indexed sequential file. The index contains the highest key field value from each block and the anchor points to that particular block.

Defining Dense Index

A Dense Index is an index record appearing for every search key value in the file. It provides a direct access path to these records and allows easy searching for any key.

Defining Nondense (Sparse) Index

A Nondense (Sparse) Index, unlike a dense index, has an index record for only some of the search key values. For instance, there may be an index record for every hundredth key or for the first key of every block.

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Define the following terms: indexing field, primary key field, clustering field, secondary key freld, block anchor, dense index, and nondense (sparse) index.

Short Answer

Step by step solution

Defining Indexing Field

Defining Primary Key Field

Defining Clustering Field

Defining Secondary Key Field

Defining Block Anchor

Defining Dense Index

Defining Nondense (Sparse) Index

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