Which statement correctly describes horizontal and vertical partitioning?

Which statement correctly describes horizontal and vertical partitioning?

• A. Vertical partitioning splits rows across partitions.
• B. Horizontal partitions columns; vertical partitions rows.
• C. Horizontal partitions rows; vertical partitions columns.
• D. Both partitioning strategies create multiple databases.

Answer: (C)

Partitioning is a technique to split data to improve performance and manageability. Horizontal partitioning distributes rows across partitions, so each partition holds a subset of records with the same columns. Vertical partitioning distributes columns across partitions, so different attributes are stored in separate partitions while all rows are represented across the partitions. Therefore, horizontal partitions rows; vertical partitions columns. Statements that swap the axes (horizontal for columns or vertical for rows) misrepresent how data is organized. The notion that partitioning inherently creates multiple databases isn’t a defining aspect of partitioning itself— it can be implemented within a single database or across multiple systems depending on the architecture.

Partitioning is a technique to split data to improve performance and manageability. Horizontal partitioning distributes rows across partitions, so each partition holds a subset of records with the same columns. Vertical partitioning distributes columns across partitions, so different attributes are stored in separate partitions while all rows are represented across the partitions. Therefore, horizontal partitions rows; vertical partitions columns. Statements that swap the axes (horizontal for columns or vertical for rows) misrepresent how data is organized. The notion that partitioning inherently creates multiple databases isn’t a defining aspect of partitioning itself— it can be implemented within a single database or across multiple systems depending on the architecture.