Databases · File Organization and Indexing
Official IIT answer key · IIT Roorkee · Audited Aug 2026
GATE CSE 2026 Set 2 Q46 · MCQ · 2 marks
An index in a DBMS is said to be dense if an index entry appears for every search-key value in the indexed file. Otherwise it is called a sparse index. Consider the following two statements. S1: A hash index must be a dense index S2: A B+ tree index can be a sparse index
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Topic notes
GATE tests file organization and indexing across two primary dimensions: exact numerical calculations of physical storage parameters (B/B+ tree order, node capacities, index blocking factors, tree height, and disk I/O costs) and conceptual comparisons of indexing structures (dense vs. sparse, clustered vs. unclustered, hash vs. tree-based indices). Recent papers increasingly emphasize multi-step numerical analysis and operational execution tracing, such as B+ tree node splitting dynamics and exact leaf-level range traversals.
Full File Organization and Indexing guide →An index in a DBMS is said to be dense if an index entry appears for every search-key value in the indexed file. Otherwise it is called a sparse index. Consider the following two statements. S1: A hash index must be a dense index S2: A B+ tree index can be a sparse index Which one of the following options is correct?
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