Page 487 - Computer_Science_F5
P. 487
Computer Science Step 4: how you will categorize or sort Aim:
Activity 8.11:
the cards based on common
Indexing in a school environment
attributes.
Cards
the
Organise
Use marker pens to label
FOR ONLINE READING ONLY
categories or sort the data
indexing in facilitating efficient data
based on identified attributes To demonstrate the importance of
retrieval using books as examples.
or criteria.
Materials:
Questions Two identical copies of the same book
1. Describe how you organised the (one with an index, one without).
cards, including the categories or
sorting criteria used. Discuss the Instructions
advantages (ease of retrieval, visual Follow these steps to find information
clarity) and challenges (ambiguous in two different books and then answer
categorization, limited space) the questions at the end of the activity.
encountered during the process.
2. Discuss similarities between Step 1: Open the book that lacks an
organizing physical cards and index.
organizing data in a database. Step 2: Select and find specific
Highlight concepts such as information of your choice
categorization (grouping data (such as a particular chapter
based on common attributes), or topic).
searchability (ease of finding Step 3: Open the book that has an
specific information), and scalability index.
(handling larger datasets). Step 4: Again, select and find specific
information of your choice
using the index.
Indexing
Indexing in a DBMS is similar to the Questions
index found at the back of a textbook. It 1. Explain the process and
allows quicker retrieval of data from the challenges faced when searching
database by creating a secondary data for information in the first book
structure (the index) that points to the without an index.
location of data in the primary storage. 2. Describe how the presence of an
This means queries can find data faster index in the second book facilitated
because the DBMS knows exactly faster information retrieval.
where to look, rather than scanning the 3. Discuss the impact of having an
entire database. index on the speed and ease of
478
for Advanced Secondary Schools
Computer Science Form 5.indd 478 23/07/2024 12:35
