Which of the following file organizations is/are I/O efficient for the scan operation in DBMS?
Topic-wise GATE CS PYQs with verified steps
GATE CSE 2024 Set 2 · Q26
Time
Select all that applyOne or more correct
Solution
Official answer: A) Sorted; B) Heap
File Organization and IndexingA scan operation in a database retrieves all data records/pages of a relation:
(A) Sorted file: Records are ordered and stored compactly across contiguous data blocks. Scanning reads each block sequentially, requiring only block I/Os (where is the number of data blocks), which is optimal.
(B) Heap file: Records are packed in data pages without any particular order. A full scan simply reads every block of the file sequentially from start to end, which also costs block I/Os and is highly I/O efficient.
(C) & (D) Unclustered tree/hash index: Because the index is unclustered, the physical ordering of records in the data blocks does not correspond to the index key order. Traversing the unclustered index to retrieve all records involves fetching records across arbitrarily scattered pages, potentially requiring up to I/O per record ( I/Os, where ), which is extremely I/O inefficient for a full scan.
Try the question first, then check your work.
Examiner trap
Consider which storage methods allow reading data blocks sequentially without repeated random disk seeks per record.
This File Organization and Indexing previous year question is Q26 of the GATE CSE 2024 Set 2 paper. Find more GATE CSE PYQs on File Organization and Indexing in Databases, or browse all GATE CSE PYQs.
Free diagnostic
Take the 20-minute diagnostic: the 3 topics that cost you the most marks, and a rank range. Or sit 5 related File Organization and Indexing PYQs now with no account.
An official question by email at 7 AM IST, with a link to its verified solution. Unsubscribe in one click.
File Organization and Indexing has 17 GATE CSE PYQs across 17 papers from 2011 to 2026. 2 of them are 1-mark MSQs like this one, and it is the only one in GATE CSE 2024 Set 2.
How GATE tests File Organization and IndexingIndependent practice explanation verified by the GateAI team. GATE is conducted by the IITs; question text follows the official paper.