Question

A secondary index B-tree is used to index a record file containing a maximum of 10 records per block when full. What is the maximum number of key entries in a node of this B-tree?

a) 5
b) 9
c) 10
d) 11

Answer 1

In a B-tree used as a secondary index for a record file with a maximum of 10 records per block when full, the maximum number of key entries in a node of the B-tree is 10.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question pertains to the maximum number of key entries in a node of a B-tree used as a secondary index for a record file. The number of keys in a B-tree node is one less than the number of children nodes for a non-leaf node. However, this question specifically refers to a secondary index B-tree, where the maximum number of records in a block when full is specified as 10. Typically, for a B-tree that handles indexing, the maximum number of keys in a node is equal to the maximum number of records per block, which means a B-tree node can have a maximum of 10 keys for indexing a file block of 10 records when full.

Therefore, the correct answer is c) 10.