Questions tagged [terminology]
Clarification and disambiguation of terminology in order to focus on clear, consistent, distinct, and easily recognized usages for databases and database technology.
121
questions
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2answers
39 views
What's the difference between Conditionals and Predicates
I am having difficulties finding what the actual difference between "conditionals" and "predicates" are in the context of SQL and Relational Database Management Systems. Do they ...
0
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0answers
9 views
Has the definition of vertical scaling changed - and if so what do we call it
15 years ago when we were figuring out how to scale SQL databases to huge systems, we used the term Horizontal scaling to mean split up your tables so that the same schema existed on multiple machines ...
1
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1answer
65 views
What is the difference between *data dictionary* and *data dump of SEDE*?
A meta post (https://meta.stackexchange.com/q/2677/714660) gives the "anatomy" of the data dump from SEDE that includes the structure of the public data dump(tables, columns, data types, etc) and ...
0
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1answer
21 views
Column Terminology
I'm a MySQL student here trying to learn the proper way to call things in the SQL language.
CREATE TABLE tbl_name (
id INT UNSIGNED NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
width SMALLINT ...
4
votes
3answers
248 views
Is Pseudo-Simple SQL Server Recovery a real thing?
"Pseudo-Simple SQL Server Recovery" is term and scenario, I was just made aware of in a (now deleted) comment for the new question SQL Server Truncates Transaction Logs with Copy Only Backups
I went ...
3
votes
1answer
364 views
“Diamond Shaped Relationship” What's the formal term?
Consider the following "Diamond-Shaped" entity relationship diagram:
I'm trying to find some formal readings on why this is a bad design - but Googling "Diamond Shaped Table Relationship" only turns ...
1
vote
1answer
166 views
What is a “part-key”?
I'm a beginner and student with regards to database design. The tutor recently discussed “part-keys”. I am struggling to find any information on what a part-key is, and I suspect it probably goes by ...
0
votes
1answer
163 views
Difference between “Field Specification” and “Field Domain”
I'm currently in the process of learning (Relational) Database Design based on two popular books, online tutorials and articles.
Some places, when they talk about attributes constraints, they call it ...
-1
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2answers
88 views
Does this have a name?
Does this have a name?
I don't really know how to describe the situation, and furthermore, is this a design flaw?
T4 has a FK to T3, and to T1, but I can get to T1 by T3.
The T1, T2 refers to MUST ...
1
vote
2answers
128 views
Differences between EDU and thread
In DB2, there is this command that shows active EDUs (engine dispatchable units):
db2pd -edus
There are two fields in the respective output: EDU ID and TID.
According to this db2pd page from the DB2 ...
10
votes
1answer
230 views
What is a “hashed transaction” in SQL Server Replication terminology?
sys.dm_repl_tranhash contains information about the hashing of transactions, but I have difficulties understanding the terminology. What is a "hashed transaction"?
2
votes
1answer
204 views
What is “query containment”?
Any one knows what is "query containment" and where do we use it please?
As far as I can search on Google, I only found one here.
Although, I've got some idea on the subject but I'm finding it ...
2
votes
1answer
232 views
Is a 'block' and a 'page' the same thing in PostgreSQL?
I've seen many blogs and videos talking about Postgres 'blocks'. Are these the same as 'pages' in other database management system implementations?
15
votes
1answer
1k views
What exactly is the 'online' in OLAP and OLTP?
I'm a bit confused because I'm questioning the definition of 'online' in OLTP and OLAP. I used to think that 'online' here means that we want our answer in bounded time and based on the data available ...
2
votes
1answer
482 views
What is the strict difference between key and constraint in SQL Server?
In SQL Server, the 'keys' folder includes primary, foreign and unique keys, while the 'constraints' folder, for example, check and default. But unique can also be considered a constraint, so why it is ...
5
votes
3answers
370 views
Most common way to express cardinality in ascii
I know that there are several symbols to express the cardinality between entities.
But is there a pragmatic common way to express cardinality in ascii?
Example: User -- Group. One user can have ...
2
votes
1answer
45 views
What's an “object”?
The Postgres documentation frequently uses the term "object". For instance, the descriptions of various \d commands at https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/app-psql.html (like \dt for listing ...
5
votes
1answer
3k views
What is a “PARTITIONED OUTER JOIN”?
This just came up in a question on Reddit, and I'm wondering
What is a PARTITIONED OUTER JOIN in Oracle? (definition)
What does a simple example look like? (use)
How would you write it in terms of ...
-2
votes
1answer
168 views
Do “Oracle Streams” have anything to do with the “Oracle Stream Class”?
Oracle has a concept call "Oracle Streams" which is extensively documented. Does this have any relation to the "Stream Class". My assumption is no, and that they're entirely distinct but ...
4
votes
1answer
550 views
Does the term “page” have the same meaning in DBMS and OS jargons?
I am learning the data format of DBMS and found we have a term: page.
Pages are the fetched data in main memory from external storage (eg. a disk, SSD) and several pages would be "cached" firstly ...
5
votes
2answers
2k views
What does it mean to “materialize”?
While learning about "data layout", I came across the term "materialize", which does not have a clear definition and explanation. What is materialize and what does materialize do?
...
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1answer
259 views
Is SQL Server Profiler different from SQL Trace?
In this source it is written something like this
I want to know what is SQL Trace? Does it refer here to Traces inside SQL Profiler or this is a different tool. I try to search it but can't find any ...
3
votes
1answer
773 views
What is the meaning of “minimal key”?
In the definition, it says minimal key is a minimal set of attributes needed to identify the table. Does the "minimal" part mean "minimal number of attributes" or "cannot be eliminated"?
For example:
...
10
votes
1answer
3k views
What is the difference between Federated and Decentralized Data Warehouse?
I can not find any clear definitions or explanations of any of these. Both seem decentralized. It appears that in Federated DWH, the data is distributed and not integrated into a single repository and ...
1
vote
1answer
48 views
Is there a particular name for the type of structure of this database?
I'm trying to set up a data structure for an internal database of skills within a company, but I'm not entirely sure what "model" this fits as I'm quite new to databases and data structuring in ...
3
votes
2answers
237 views
What is the industry term for superset of “metrics” and “dimensions”? [closed]
If I want to refer to measures/metrics and dimensions with a single term, what would be a good industry-accepted expression?
Metrics is used commonly in UIs as well such as Google Analytics or ...
2
votes
4answers
301 views
What is a DBA's definition of “batch”?
I've heard it being used in relation to SQLite sometimes but never completely understood what it means.
0
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1answer
143 views
What is the technical meaning of “Bulk” in the “Bulk-Logged Recovery Model” and why this name?
With this model there are certain bulk operations such as BULK INSERT, CREATE INDEX, SELECT INTO, etc... that are not fully logged in the transaction log and therefore do not take as much space in the ...
0
votes
1answer
74 views
What is meant by “nonclustered legacy instance of SQL Server”?
When I research nonclustered legacy instance in SQL Server, all I get is some results about indexes. This is obviously not related to or affiliated with indexes, so what is meant by "clustered ...
0
votes
1answer
678 views
Difference between an endpoint and a port in SQL Server
While I know why are ports used in SQL Server, I wonder what is the difference between an endpoint and a port. Ports can be managed using Configuration Manager, is it also possible to manage endpoints ...
0
votes
1answer
932 views
What is meant by “Stand-Alone Instance of SQL Server”
I am cloning a server to perform an in-place upgrade and I will have to change the name of that server - which has a SQL Server with just one instance (default instance) installed on it.
I am ...
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votes
1answer
2k views
What is a “clob” or Character Large Object?
I see in this post on listagg — Rows to Delimited Strings talking about SQL's LISTAGG() clause ON OVERFLOW
The return type of listagg is either varchar or clob with an implementation defined length ...
0
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1answer
523 views
What does MBRContains and MBRWithin test? What does “contains” and “within” mean?
MBRContains(g1, g2) is defined as,
Returns 1 or 0 to indicate whether the minimum bounding rectangle of g1 contains the minimum bounding rectangle of g2. This tests the opposite relationship as ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
What are “Invisible Columns” and how are they used?
I saw a new feature Invisible Columns in MariaDB 10.3.x. What are practical use cases for DBA and web developer? When to use this feature?
Columns can be given an INVISIBLE attribute in a CREATE ...
5
votes
1answer
126 views
What is this expression changing process?
Consider this table definition:
CREATE TABLE [dbo].[Post]
(
[Id] INT IDENTITY(1,1) NOT NULL,
[PostType] VARCHAR(10) NOT NULL,
CONSTRAINT [CK_Post_PostType] CHECK ([PostType] IN ('...
0
votes
0answers
15 views
Name of attributes that are indirectly related to entity
If I have a set of data that relate to an entity directly and some that do not, is there a standard name for these two types of attributes?
example, Employee:
employeeID firstname lastname manager ...
6
votes
1answer
635 views
What is an “ACCESS METHOD”?
In the context of the CREATE ACCESS METHOD DDL in PostgreSQL,
CREATE ACCESS METHOD name
TYPE access_method_type
HANDLER handler_function
What is a a high level description of what an "access ...
7
votes
7answers
139 views
Term for non transaction save actions
If you only look at the database everything is fine. You have transactions and if somethings goes wrong everything gets rolled back. That's nice - I like this.
BUT: I want to send mails. Now I am in ...
1
vote
1answer
93 views
What does SPJ stand for in MySQL parlance?
MySQL has a lot of references to SPJ in MySQL including in official Oracle slides but I can't find what it actually stands for. I see it show up in a few blogs too.
I looked in the source and found ...
-1
votes
1answer
97 views
What does FHQT or FQA mean?
I was reading this post by Andres Pascal, and I came accross a few new acronyms,
As I understand, you need to search strings by similarity (using levenshtein or any other metric distance). In that ...
2
votes
1answer
7k views
Difference between UPSERT and MERGE?
From the PostgreSQL wiki,
MERGE is typically used to merge two tables, and was introduced in the 2003 SQL standard. The REPLACE statement (a MySQL extension) or UPSERT sequence attempts an UPDATE, ...
2
votes
1answer
30 views
Whats the name for columns which purpose is not to identify?
I have a contacts table.
Columns are:
id
user_id
provider_id
title
phone_number
phone_ext
I want to know if there's a word that refers to the columns that make up the meat of the table. ie. (title, ...
2
votes
1answer
115 views
Name for table with metric_name and metric_value columns
A typical database table might look something like this:
date-------geography---clicks---cost---conversions
___________________________________________________
1/1/2010---Kansas------56-------12-----...
0
votes
1answer
264 views
Heap-Organized Tables and 'Heap' the Data Structure
AFAIK, heap-organized tables, which are default in Oracle and PostgreSQL, are just tables without any clustered index.
I'm wondering where the term 'heap' got its name. It's just a pile of data, not ...
-1
votes
1answer
62 views
Authorized, all privileged DB user and a DB instance with the same name - does it have a name? [closed]
Is there a term that encompasses an authorized, all-privileged DB user and a DB instance with the same name?
Should I call this a DB stack / DB unit / DB packet / something else?
Does this "stack" ...
1
vote
2answers
1k views
What is the formal definition of a Primary Index and Primary Key?
The below is from Fundamentals of Database Systems (7th Edition)
17.1 Types of Single-Level Ordered Indexes
There are several types of ordered indexes. A primary index is specified on the ordering ...
4
votes
2answers
5k views
Standard Meaning of “Bounce the Database” [closed]
I have been hearing the term "bounce the database" lately, and researching it, it seems that people take it to mean different things.
Most recently is was an Oracle DBA saying:
"not even the DBAs ...
7
votes
2answers
7k views
In PostgreSQL, what is the difference between a “Stored Procedure” and other types of functions?
I understand the distinction between:
Scalar functions
Set-Returning-Functions (SRF)s
Internal functions
Window functions
Aggregate functions of all sorts
User-Implemented functions (which in ...
1
vote
1answer
1k views
What is MySQL's “Implicit Default Value” and how does it work with “strict mode”?
From this question comments,
In the documentation (dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.7/en/insert.html), inserting with INSERT INTO tbl_name () VALUES(); is mentioned. It is allowed except for what the doc ...
3
votes
1answer
12k views
What is a SQL Server “GDR”?
Microsoft provides hosts two repos,
https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/mssql-server-2017-gdr-xenial/
https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/mssql-server-2017-xenial/
What does GDR stand for in that ...
