In-Class Exercise: DBMS Principles

Instructions:

1. Form groups of 3-4 students.
2. Your group will be assigned one of the scenarios below.
3. Discuss the scenario and identify which DBMS principles are most relevant.
4. For each relevant principle, explain how it addresses the challenges in the scenario.
5. Prepare a brief (2-3 minute) presentation of your findings.

Scenarios:

Scenario 1: Online Banking System

You’re part of a team designing a database system for a major online bank. The system needs to handle thousands of transactions per second, maintain accurate account balances, and ensure the security of sensitive financial data.

Scenario 2: E-commerce Platform

You’re working on an e-commerce platform that needs to update inventory across multiple warehouses in real-time. The system must handle peak loads during sales events and ensure that customers don’t order out-of-stock items.

Scenario 3: Healthcare Records System

You’re designing a database for a large hospital network. The system needs to manage patient records with strict privacy requirements, allow quick access for healthcare providers, and maintain data integrity for critical medical information.

Scenario 4: Social Media Platform

You’re part of a team scaling a social media platform to support millions of concurrent users. The system needs to handle a high volume of reads and writes, manage user relationships, and provide quick access to recent posts and notifications.

Questions to Consider:

1. Which ACID properties are crucial for this scenario? Why?
2. How does data independence apply to this system?
3. What concurrency control mechanisms would be most appropriate?
4. How would you ensure data integrity in this scenario?
5. What query optimization techniques might be particularly important?
6. How would you approach transaction management and recovery in this system?

Presentation Format:

• Briefly describe your assigned scenario (30 seconds)
• Identify 3-4 key DBMS principles relevant to the scenario (1 minute)
• Explain how each principle addresses specific challenges in the scenario (1-2 minutes)
• Conclude with the most critical principle for this scenario and why (30 seconds)

Remember, there are no strictly right or wrong answers. Focus on justifying your choices based on the scenario and your understanding of DBMS principles.