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Learning Objectives

After completing this unit students will be able to:

  • Recognize the uses of spreadsheets and how they relate to databases 
  • Manipulate and chart/graph data to show different trends
  • Distinguish between variables and constants
  • Describe what a function is and why they are so important
  • Calculate data using functions
  • Create a visual representation of the data they are manipulating 
  • Describe big data and how it differs from “regular” data
  • Identify the global impact of big data, including its shortcomings

Suggested Reading

Important Vocab

  • Atomic transaction – transaction where all components must be carried out before the transaction is considered complete such that all occur or none occur
  • Big Data – sets of data that are larger than a consumer software application can handle
  • Consistency – refers to the fact that information from one table does not contradict itself in any other table throughout a database
  • Deadlock – when, in a database, two transactions are trying to lock the same row and neither can continue until the other is complete
  • Fault-tolerance – the ability for a system to continue to run properly even if one piece fails
  • Idempotency – when an operation results in the same end result no matter how many times it is performed
  • Keys – a database column that holds a unique value that distinguishes each record from others
  • Relational database – a database that has multiple tables that are connected by the use of unique keys
  • Rollback – returning back to the state of a database before the write-ahead log began
  • Two-phase Commit Protocol – a standardized way for databases to make sure all transactions are able to write without any inconsistencies before committing
  • Virtual Tables – temporary tables that are made up of parts of other tables that help in reducing redundant data
  • Write-ahead Logging – a method for avoiding inconsistencies in which all transactions are written and saved to a log before they are applied to a database

<– 3 – Compressing Data | 5 – Protecting Data: Heuristics, Security, and Encryption –>