ASSIGNMNT#01

SUBJECT: BIOINFORMATICS DATABASE

DATE: MARCH 11, 2024

1.11 Study the Dream Home case study presented in Section 11.4 and Appendix A.
(a) In what ways would a DBMS help this organization?
The implementation of a DBMS would offer DreamHome several advantages:

1. Efficient Data Organization: Utilizing a DBMS enables DreamHome to efficiently organize and
manage their data, facilitating easy retrieval and access.

2. Enhanced Data Integrity: By enforcing constraints and validations, the DBMS ensures data
integrity, mitigating the occurrence of errors or inconsistencies within the data.

3. Robust Data Security: The DBMS incorporates security features like user authentication and
access controls, providing protection for sensitive information.

4. Consistent Data Management: Through normalization and effective transaction handling,

the DBMS maintains data consistency, even in scenarios involving concurrent access or
modifications by multiple users.

5. Scalability for Growth: As DreamHome expands and accommodates more branches or staff,
the DBMS can seamlessly scale to manage increasing data volumes without compromising
performance.
(b) What do you think are the main objects that need to be represented in the database?

 Branch Office
 Manager
 Staff
 Property Listings
 Clientele
(c) What relationships do you think exist between these main objects?
• Each branch office is overseen by a single manager, who may manage multiple branch
offices (one-to-many relationship).
• Several staff members are associated with each branch office, with each staff member
affiliated with only one branch office (one-to-many relationship).
• Each property listing is affiliated with a specific branch office, and a branch office may
have multiple property listings (one-to-many relationship).
• Multiple clients may express interest in each property listing, and each client may
express interest in multiple property listings (many-to-many relationship).

(d) For each of the objects, what details do you think need to be stored in the database?
1. Branch Office:
- Branch Number (Unique Identifier)
- Location (Address: Street, City, Postcode)
- Contact Details (Telephone Numbers)
- Manager ID (Linked to Manager Table)

2. Manager:
- Manager ID (Unique Identifier)
- Full Name
- Date of Appointment
- Monthly Performance Bonus

3. Staff:
- Staff ID (Unique Identifier)
- Full Name
- Job Title
- Associated Branch Number (Linked to Branch Office Table)

4. Property Listings:
- Property ID (Unique Identifier)
- Location (Address)
- Description
- Price
 - Associated Branch Number (Linked to Branch Office Table)

5. Clientele:
- Client ID (Unique Identifier)
- Full Name
- Contact Information
(e) What queries do you think are required?
• Retrieve information on all branch offices along with their respective managers.
• Obtain a list of staff members employed at a particular branch office.
• List all properties overseen by a specific branch office.
• Obtain details of clients interested in a particular property.
• Calculate the total monthly bonus payment for a manager.
• Find properties falling within a specified price range.
• Identify staff members who were hired after a certain date.
• Retrieve client details based on specific criteria such as location or budget.
1.13 Discuss what you consider to be the three most important advantages for the use of a
DBMS for a company like Dream Home and provide a justification for your selection. Discuss
what you consider to be the three most important disadvantages for the use of a DBMS for a
company like dream Home and provide a justification for your selection.
Advantages of Using a DBMS for Dream Home:

1. Data Centralization and Organization: Facilitates centralized storage and structured

management of vast data, enhancing efficiency and reducing redundancy.
2. Data Security and Integrity: Offers robust security features, ensuring confidentiality,
integrity, and minimizing the risk of unauthorized access or data loss.
3. Improved Decision-Making and Reporting: Enables insightful data analysis and
reporting, empowering informed decision-making and enhancing business
competitiveness.
Disadvantages of Using a DBMS for Dream Home:
1. Cost of Implementation and Maintenance: Initial acquisition and ongoing maintenance
costs, including hardware, software, and skilled personnel, can be substantial, especially
for smaller businesses.
2. Complexity and Learning Curve: Requires extensive training and expertise due to the
complexity of the system, potentially leading to inefficiencies, errors, and resistance to
change among employees.
 3. Potential for Data Redundancy and Inconsistency: Risk of data redundancy and
inconsistency if the database schema is not properly designed and maintained,
necessitating careful data cleansing and normalization procedures to maintain data
quality and reliability.

2.15 Analyze the DBMS that you are currently using. Determine each system's
compliance with the functions that we would expect to be provided by a DBMS.
What type of language does each system provide? What type of architecture does
each DBMS use? Check the accessibility and extensibility of the system catalog. Is it
possible to export the system catalog to another system?

• The DBMS efficiently organizes and manages data concerning branch offices, managers,
staff, property listings, and clientele by employing tabular structures, ensuring
streamlined storage and retrieval processes.
• Data integrity is maintained through the implementation of constraints like primary keys,
foreign keys, and unique constraints, guaranteeing the consistency and accuracy of the
data and preventing issues such as duplicate records or orphaned references.
• Robust security measures such as user authentication, access control, and encryption
safeguard sensitive data from unauthorized access or alteration, with access privileges
tailored to user roles.
• Concurrency control is managed through locking mechanisms, enabling multiple users to
access and modify data concurrently without conflicts, while transaction management
ensures atomicity, consistency, isolation, and durability (ACID properties).

a) Language and architecture:

Language: The primary language for interacting with the database is typically SQL,
supplemented by procedural languages like PL/SQL (for Oracle) or PL/pgSQL (for
PostgreSQL) for developing stored procedures and triggers.
b) Architecture:
Following a client-server architecture, clients connect to the database server to execute
queries and retrieve data, with the server handling data storage, processing, and access
control.
c) Accessibility and extensibility of the system catalog:
Accessibility: Access to the system catalog, containing metadata about database objects and
privileges, is usually restricted to database administrators or users with appropriate
permissions.
 d) Extensibility:
While the system catalog allows for some extension, modifications typically require
administrative privileges and careful consideration to maintain compatibility and consistency
within the database.
e) Exporting the system catalog to another system:
Exporting the system catalog is feasible but may necessitate specialized tools or scripts to extract
metadata in a compatible format. The exported data can then be imported into another DBMS or
used for documentation purposes, requiring meticulous planning and validation to ensure data
integrity and consistency.

2.18 database approach uses different data models. Common database models include the
relational model, the network model and the hierarchical model. Which data model should
be chosen under which circumstances and why?
The choice of data model depends on various factors such as the nature of the data, the
requirements of the application, scalability needs, and ease of implementation and
maintenance. Here's a brief overview of each common database model and when it might be
chosen:
1. Relational Model:
 Suitable Circumstances: The relational model is widely used and suitable for most
business applications. It's ideal when data relationships can be represented in a tabular
format with rows and columns.
 Why: Relational databases provide a structured way to organize data, enforce data
integrity through constraints, and support complex queries using SQL. They are well-
suited for scenarios where data access patterns are diverse and ad-hoc queries are
common.
2. Network Model:
 Suitable Circumstances: The network model is more complex and less commonly used
compared to the relational model. It's suitable when data relationships are complex
and hierarchical, and when entities have multiple parent-child relationships.
 Why: The network model allows for more flexible relationships between entities,
allowing each record to have multiple parent records. This can be beneficial in scenarios
where the structure of the data is dynamic or evolving and when representing complex
business relationships.
 3. Hierarchical Model:
 Suitable Circumstances: The hierarchical model organizes data in a tree-like
structure with parent-child relationships. It's suitable for scenarios where data has a
natural hierarchical structure, such as file systems or organizational charts.
 Why: The hierarchical model is efficient for representing one-to-many relationships,
where each parent record can have multiple child records but each child record has
only one parent. It's typically used in scenarios where the data access pattern is
predominantly hierarchical in nature.

In summary, the relational model is often the default choice for most applications due to its
simplicity, flexibility, and widespread adoption. However, the network and hierarchical models
may be chosen in specific circumstances where the data structure aligns better with their
inherent characteristics and requirements.
3.18 Examine the documentation sets of Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, and IBM’s DB2 system
to identify their support for the following:
(a) client–server architecture
(b) Web services
(c) service-oriented architecture
Examining the documentation sets of Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, and IBM's DB2 system can
provide insights into their support for client-server architecture, web services, and service-
oriented architecture (SOA):

(a) Client-Server Architecture:

- Microsoft SQL Server: The documentation for SQL Server covers client-server
architecture, detailing aspects such as configuring client connections, managing
sessions, and optimizing performance in client-server environments.
- Oracle: Oracle's documentation also addresses client-server architecture, providing
guidance on setting up client connections, managing sessions, and optimizing
performance within client-server setups.
- IBM DB2: Similarly, the documentation for DB2 encompasses information on client-
server architecture, including configuring client connections, managing sessions, and
optimizing performance for client-server interactions.
(b) Web Services:
- Microsoft SQL Server: SQL Server supports web services through features like SQL
Server Integration Services (SSIS) and SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS). The
documentation includes guides and tutorials on creating, deploying, and consuming web
services using SQL Server components.
- Oracle: Oracle Database can be integrated into web services architectures, but specific
support and documentation for this may vary based on Oracle's offerings and the
version of the database.
- IBM DB2: DB2 also provides support for web services integration, allowing users to
expose database functionalities as services that can be accessed by other components
or applications. Documentation may cover techniques for creating, deploying, and
consuming web services within the DB2 ecosystem.

(c) Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA):

- Microsoft SQL Server: SQL Server can be integrated into service-oriented architectures
by exposing database functionalities as services. The documentation offers guidance on
building SOAs using SQL Server components and technologies like the SQL Server
Database Engine, SSIS, and SSAS.
- Oracle: Oracle Database can also be incorporated into service-oriented architectures,
but the extent of support and documentation may depend on Oracle's offerings and the
version of the database.
- IBM DB2: DB2 supports integration into service-oriented architectures, allowing users to
expose database functionalities as services accessible by other components or
applications. Documentation may cover building SOAs using DB2 components and
technologies.

Overall, while all three database systems Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, and IBM DB2—provide
support for client-server architecture and offer some level of support for web services and
service-oriented architectures, the depth and extent of documentation and support may vary
between them.
3.19 Search the Web for a number of Web services other than the ones discussed in Section
3.2. What do these services have in common? Identify whether the services access a
database.
1. Online Banking Service:
- Common Traits: Secure access to financial accounts, funds transfer, bill payments,
transaction history, and account management.
- Database Access: Online banking services indeed interact with databases to access and
update customer account details, transaction logs, and other pertinent banking
information.

2. E-commerce Platform:
- Common Traits: Product listings, shopping cart features, order processing, payment
handling, customer profiles, and inventory control.
- Database Access: E-commerce platforms depend on databases for storing product
descriptions, customer data, order records, inventory statuses, and transaction
information.

3. Healthcare Information System:

- Common Traits: Electronic health records (EHR), patient demographic details, medical
histories, appointment scheduling, prescription management, and billing processes.
- Database Access: Healthcare information systems utilize databases for storing and
retrieving patient health records, medical data, treatment plans, and financial records.