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BCS501AKTU · Sem 5

Database Management System

AKTU 2024-25 scheme (B.Tech 3rd Year CSE, NEP/AICTE model curriculum) · 100 marks: 70 end-sem theory (3 hrs; Section A: 7 short questions x 2 = 14; Section B: any 3 of 5 x 7 = 21; Section C: 5 questions, one per unit, attempt 1 of 2 parts each, x 7 = 35) + 30 internal (CT 20 + TA 10). L-T-P 3-1-0, 4 credits. Lab BCS551 (0-0-2, 1 credit) is marked separately out of 100 (50 internal + 50 end-sem practical).

Official syllabus

Revised 0 of 1010 high-repeat questions

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ER diagram shows entities (rectangles), attributes (ellipses), relationships (diamonds) and keys (underlined). Weak entity: double rectangle; multivalued attribute: double ellipse; derived attribute: dashed ellipse; total participation: double line. Example: EMPLOYEE(Emp_id, Name, Salary) WORKS_ON (Hours) PROJECT(P_id, P_name); DEPARTMENT manages PROJECT. Reduction: each strong entity becomes a table; M:N relationship becomes a table with both keys as composite PK (WORKS_ON(Emp_id, P_id, Hours)); 1:N adds a foreign key on the N side; multivalued attribute becomes a separate table.
Full-marks tip: Draw a neat labelled diagram with cardinality (1:N, M:N) on every relationship, then list the resulting tables with PK underlined and FKs marked. Common mistake: forgetting the separate table for M:N relationships.

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Unit-wise syllabus

U1Introduction and Data Modeling using the ER Model

Weightage: Not officially published (Section C has one 7-mark question per unit; Sections A and B are not split equally)

Database system vs file systemDatabase system concepts and architectureData models, schema and instancesData independenceDatabase languages and interfaces: DDL, DMLOverall database structureER model concepts and notationMapping constraints (cardinality)Keys: super key, candidate key, primary keyGeneralization, specialization and aggregationReduction of an ER diagram to tablesExtended ER model and relationships of higher degree

U2Relational Data Model and Language

Weightage: Not officially published (Section C has one 7-mark question per unit; Sections A and B are not split equally)

Relational data model conceptsIntegrity constraints: entity, referential, key and domain constraintsRelational algebraRelational calculus: tuple and domain calculusIntroduction to SQL: characteristics, advantages, types of SQL commandsSQL operators, tables, views and indexesQueries and sub-queries, aggregate functionsInsert, update and delete operationsJoins, union, intersection, minusCursors, triggers and procedures in SQL/PL-SQL

U3Database Design and Normalization

Weightage: Not officially published (Section C has one 7-mark question per unit; Sections A and B are not split equally)

Functional dependencies, Armstrong's axioms, attribute closureCanonical cover and candidate keysFirst, second and third normal formsBoyce-Codd normal form (BCNF)Inclusion dependencyLossless join and dependency preserving decompositionNormalization using FDs, MVDs (4NF) and JDs (5NF)Alternative approaches to database design

U4Transaction Processing Concepts

Weightage: Not officially published (Section C has one 7-mark question per unit; Sections A and B are not split equally)

Transaction system and ACID propertiesSchedules and testing of serializabilityConflict and view serializable schedulesRecoverability, cascadeless schedulesRecovery from transaction failuresLog based recovery (deferred and immediate update)CheckpointsDeadlock handlingDistributed database: data storage, concurrency control, directory system

U5Concurrency Control Techniques

Weightage: Not officially published (Section C has one 7-mark question per unit; Sections A and B are not split equally)

Concurrency control and its needLocking techniques: shared/exclusive locks, two-phase lockingGraph based locking protocolsTimestamp ordering protocols (Thomas write rule)Validation (optimistic) based protocolMultiple granularity lockingMultiversion schemesRecovery with concurrent transactionsCase study of Oracle

Curated video lectures

Free lectures from well-known educators, matched to units. Videos load only when you tap “Watch here”, to save data.

DBMS complete playlist: ER model, keys, normalization, SQL, transactions, concurrency control

Gate Smashers · Playlist · 140 videos · Hindi

DBMS in Hindi complete playlist (all units, numericals on FDs and serializability)

KnowledgeGATE by Sanchit Sir · Playlist · 114 videos · Hindi

DBMS lectures: data models, three schema architecture, ER diagrams and keys

Jenny's Lectures CS IT · Playlist · 24 videos · English · Unit 1

Database Management Systems: relational model, keys and integrity constraints

Neso Academy · Playlist · 57 videos · English · Unit 2

DBMS in Simple Steps (SQL, normalization, transactions, recovery)

TutorialsPoint · Playlist · 157 videos · English

Exam Guide Radar

Standard textbook

Korth, Silberschatz and Sudarshan, Database System Concepts, McGraw Hill (first text in the AKTU DBMS list; C. J. Date, An Introduction to Database Systems, and Elmasri and Navathe, Fundamentals of Database Systems, are also listed)

Exam guide students buy

Quantum Series: Database Management System (BCS501) by Quantum Publications

Unit-wise short and long answers with solved AKTU papers. Buy the edition that matches your scheme code (BCS/BAS, not the old KCS/KAS).

Local market tip

Buy the Quantum printed for BCS501 (2024-25 onward), not the old KCS501 edition, from bookshops near your college in October-November before the odd-semester exams; the units are the same but the paper pattern changed to 70 marks.

Lab Viva Survival

BCS551: SQL basics (CREATE, INSERT, SELECT with WHERE/ORDER BY, constraints, group functions, joins)

Q. Difference between DELETE, TRUNCATE and DROP?: → DELETE removes chosen rows and can be rolled back; TRUNCATE removes all rows fast as DDL; DROP removes the table itself.
Q. Difference between WHERE and HAVING?: → WHERE filters rows before grouping; HAVING filters groups after GROUP BY and can use aggregate functions.
Q. Primary key vs unique key?: → Primary key is NOT NULL and only one per table; unique keys can be many and may allow a NULL.
Q. What is a foreign key?: → A column that refers to the primary key of another table to enforce referential integrity.

BCS551: Views, normalization exercise and ER diagram using a CASE tool

Q. What is a view?: → A virtual table defined by a stored SELECT query; it stores no data of its own and can hide columns for security.
Q. Why do we normalize tables?: → To remove redundancy and insert, update and delete anomalies by splitting tables using functional dependencies.
Q. What is a weak entity?: → An entity with no key of its own that depends on an owner entity; drawn as a double rectangle.

BCS551: PL/SQL cursors, procedures, functions and triggers

Q. What is a cursor? Types?: → A pointer to the result set of a query for row by row processing; implicit (automatic) and explicit (DECLARE, OPEN, FETCH, CLOSE).
Q. Procedure vs function?: → A function must return a value and can be used in SQL; a procedure need not return a value and is called with EXEC/CALL.
Q. What is a trigger?: → A stored block that runs automatically BEFORE or AFTER an INSERT, UPDATE or DELETE on a table, at row or statement level.