Data Processing Data Storage and Retrieval 1

Question 1

What is the difference between structured and unstructured data?

Accepted Answer

Structured data is organized in predefined formats like tables; unstructured data has no predefined format

Answer

Structured data conforms to a predefined schema (like rows in a database), while unstructured data lacks a formal structure (like emails, images, or video files).

Question 2

What is a data warehouse's key characteristic compared to an operational database?

Accepted Answer

It is optimized for read-heavy analytical queries rather than transactional write operations

Answer

Data warehouses are designed for OLAP (Online Analytical Processing), optimizing complex read queries across large historical datasets, unlike OLTP databases built for fast transactional writes.

Question 3

What does CRUD stand for in data management?

Accepted Answer

Create, Read, Update, Delete

Answer

CRUD represents the four basic operations for persistent data storage: Create (insert), Read (query), Update (modify), and Delete (remove).

Question 4

What is the purpose of database caching?

Accepted Answer

Storing frequently accessed data in fast memory to reduce retrieval time

Answer

Database caching stores query results or frequently accessed data in fast in-memory storage, dramatically reducing database load and response times for repeated requests.

Question 5

What is a columnar storage format?

Accepted Answer

Data stored column by column rather than row by row, optimized for analytical queries

Answer

Columnar storage organizes data by columns rather than rows, allowing analytical queries to read only the columns they need rather than entire rows.

Data Processing Practice Test

Data Processing Practice Test

Data Processing Data Storage and Retrieval 1