Week 22: CST363 Week 5: Transactions and Slow Indexes

This week in has been particularly challenging. We covered transactions and how important they are in maintaining the integrity of database operations. The material has been dense, and I found myself needing to outsource a lot of additional information from YouTube and websites to fully grasp the concepts. The topics require a deeper understanding of how databases handle issues like concurrency and recovery, which was more complex than I initially thought. I also found myself falling behind on some of the homework due to the amount of information that needs to be processed. It’s been tough balancing it all, but I’m still pushing through.

Slow indexes: After reading the article "Use The Index, Luke". Winand introduced the concept of a “slow index.” He explains that even with an index, certain queries can still perform slowly. Because a query might not only have to traverse the index tree but also follow leaf node chains to find all matching entries and then access the corresponding rows in the table itself.

Understanding the underlying mechanics of databases and not just the surface-level operations is essential. However, I must admit the volume of material is overwhelming, Hopefully, as the semester progresses, I’ll be able to catch up and manage the workload better.