Database Management Systems By Raghu Ramakrishnan

 

This article reviews the book “Database Management Systems” by Raghu Ramakrishnan and Johannes Gehrke.

The article covers-

• Special features of book
• Analysis of Content
• Analysis of Exercises
• Necessary Instructions
• Conclusion

 

Why Should Be Read?

 

Special Features of Book-

 

The special features of this book are-

• It is one of the most detailed books for this subject.
• It covers all the GATE topics.
• The topics of Transaction Management are covered in great depth especially.
• It deals with the content in a simple and crystal clear way which makes the subject beginner friendly.
• Its exercise questions are of high quality and at par with the level of questions asked in the GATE exam.

 

Analysis of Content-

 

The following table analyzes sections of the book that are relevant for GATE-

 

Chapter No.	GATE Relevant Sections	GATE Topics Covered
1	All Sections	Overview (Optional Read)
2	2.1 to 2.5	Basics of ER Model
3	3.1 to 3.4	Relational Model
	3.5	ER to Relational Model
4	4.2	Relational Algebra
	4.3	Relational Calculus
5	5.1 to 5.6	SQL Queries
8	8.1 to 8.3	Indexing
	8.4	File Organization
	8.5	Performance Tuning
16	16.1	Transactions and ACID Properties
	16.2
	16.3	Concurrent Execution and Lock-based Concurrency Control
	16.4
17	17.1	View Serializability
	17.2 to 17.6	Lock Management and Deadlocks
18	18.2	Crash Recovery and Check-pointing
	18.5
	18.6
19	All Sections	Normalization

Covering Only These Sections Is Enough

 

Analysis of Exercises-

 

The following table analyzes exercises of the book that are relevant for GATE-

 

Chapter No.	Question No.
2	2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.7, 2.8
3	3.2, 3.5, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9
4	4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5
5	5.1 to 5.5, 5.7, 5.10
8	8.4, 8.7, 8.10, 8.11
16	16.2, 16.3, 16.5, 16.8, 16.9
17	17.2, 17.3, 17.4, 17.6, 17.7
19	19.2, 19.3, 19.5, 19.7, 19.8, 19.10, 19.12, 19.13, 19.18, 19.24, 19.26

Practicing Only These Exercises Is Enough

 

Necessary Instructions-

 

Keep the following instructions in mind while reading the book-

• The book has nearly 1100 pages.
• Read only selective topics which are part of a GATE syllabus.
• Competitive exams mainly focus on numerical questions from this subject.
• So, practice all the questions mentioned in the Analysis of Exercises section.
• Theoretical questions may be asked but less frequently asked.
• So, keep making short notes while reading the book to solve theoretical questions.
• Focus on the topics of Normalization and Transaction Management.
• Questions from these topics are asked every year in the GATE exam.

 

Conclusion-

 

• This textbook covers the entire GATE syllabus in a clear and detailed manner.
• The exercise questions provide good practice to solve GATE questions.
• Overall, this book is a good read while preparing this subject for GATE exam.

 

THIS BOOK IS SELF-SUFFICIENT FOR GATE EXAM.

 

 

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Other Recommended Books-

 

Fundamentals of Database System By Navathe-

 

 

Database System Concepts By Abraham Silberschatz & Korth-