Multiple choice technology databases

What is the advantage of IMS DB?

  1. Faster access

  2. easy implementation

  3. high flexibility

  4. simple management
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A Correct answer
Explanation

IMS's hierarchical structure provides faster access for predefined traversal paths. Direct parent-child pointers enable quick retrieval without complex joins. Flexibility and ease of implementation are not its strengths.

AI explanation

IMS DB is IBM's hierarchical database, and its main historical advantage over relational databases is raw speed: because data is stored in a fixed parent-child tree and accessed via direct pointers/indexes without needing join processing, retrieval is very fast for predictable access patterns — hence "Faster access." "Easy implementation" and "simple management" are actually weaknesses of IMS (it requires rigid, upfront schema/access-path design and specialized DBA skill), and "high flexibility" is the opposite of how hierarchical databases behave compared to relational ones — they're rigid, not flexible. Speed is the trade-off IMS makes flexibility for.

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