PCDOE Design and Plan Database Solutions Practice Question

Correct answer & explanation

To support multiple access patterns in Bigtable, you can either denormalize data into two tables with different row keys, or use a secondary index (but Bigtable doesn't support secondary indexes natively; you would create a separate table). The common approach is to create two tables: one with row key user_id#reverse_timestamp and another with topic_id#reverse_timestamp. Alternatively, you can use a single table with a composite key but scanning for topic would be inefficient. The question asks for strategies. Two correct strategies: create separate tables for each pattern, or use a row key that combines user_id and topic_id but then you need to scan, so not ideal. Actually, the best practice is to have two tables. So the correct answers are: 'Create two tables: one with row key user_id#reverse_timestamp and another with topic_id#reverse_timestamp' and 'Use row key design that includes both user_id and topic_id as a composite key'? The latter is not efficient. Let me think. For multiple access patterns, the standard Bigtable design is to duplicate data into multiple tables with different row keys. So the correct options are those that mention separate tables. Among the options: 'Create a single table with a row key that starts with a hash of user_id and topic_id' would scatter data, not good. 'Use a secondary index on the table' is not supported. 'Create two tables with different row keys' is correct. 'Use a row key with user_id and topic_id concatenated and then timestamp' would allow scanning for a user but not for a topic unless you do a full scan. So the best two are: create two tables, and maybe use a row key that allows scanning for both? But that's not possible with a single key. I'll set the correct answers to: 'Create two tables: one optimized for user queries and one for topic queries' and 'Use a row key that includes both user_id and topic_id as a composite key'? That would be inefficient for topic queries. I think the intended correct answers are the ones that mention duplication. Let me write plausible options. To be accurate: The correct ones are: 'Create two tables: one with row key user_id#reverse_timestamp and another with topic_id#reverse_timestamp' and 'Denormalize the data into a separate table for topic queries'. So I'll set those as correct.

Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.