Compared to spreadsheets, databases generally have what advantages?

Compared to spreadsheets, databases generally have what advantages?

• A. Less ability to enforce relationships
• B. Better data integrity and scalability
• C. More manual data entry
• D. Higher risk of inconsistencies

Answer: (B)

Databases provide better data integrity and scalability due to their structured design and enforcement of constraints. They use keys and relationships to connect data across multiple tables, with rules that prevent inconsistent or orphaned records. Normalization reduces duplication by organizing data into related tables, and constraints like primary keys, foreign keys, and checks ensure that only valid data can be entered. Transactions with ACID properties keep data consistent even when many users access or modify it at the same time, and indexing plus optimized query processing helps handle growing datasets and more complex queries efficiently. This combination makes data more reliable and the system capable of scaling as needs increase. Spreadsheets, in contrast, are often flat and prone to duplication, manual data entry, and inconsistent data as they expand, and they don’t inherently enforce robust relationships or data integrity across multiple sheets. That’s why the advantage described here is more data integrity and scalability.

Databases provide better data integrity and scalability due to their structured design and enforcement of constraints. They use keys and relationships to connect data across multiple tables, with rules that prevent inconsistent or orphaned records. Normalization reduces duplication by organizing data into related tables, and constraints like primary keys, foreign keys, and checks ensure that only valid data can be entered. Transactions with ACID properties keep data consistent even when many users access or modify it at the same time, and indexing plus optimized query processing helps handle growing datasets and more complex queries efficiently. This combination makes data more reliable and the system capable of scaling as needs increase.

Spreadsheets, in contrast, are often flat and prone to duplication, manual data entry, and inconsistent data as they expand, and they don’t inherently enforce robust relationships or data integrity across multiple sheets. That’s why the advantage described here is more data integrity and scalability.