Course Expectations and Tentative Syllabus

 

CSC:264               Database Management Systems                                                       Fall 2003

                                Room      F – Holroyd 101    (some Wed)                                          MWF  2-2:50am

                                                MW -   Olney 211

 

Professor:             Dr. Michael Redmond               

330 Olney Hall  (215) 951-1096

redmond@lasalle.edu      

http://www.lasalle.edu/~redmond/teach/264

 

Office Hours:       W 10-10:50am; MWF 12-12:50am, TR 2-3pm

                                And at other times by appointment.

 

Text:

Database Systems Design, Implementation, & Management by Peter Rob and Carlos Coronel. Fifth Edition. Publisher: Course Technology Year: 2002  ISBN 0-619-06269-X

 

Recommended:

A comprehensive book on Microsoft Access, such as

Microsoft Access 2000 Bible by Cary N. Prague, Michael R. Irwin,  John Wiley & Sons; ISBN: 0764532863; 1st edition (April 1999), Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  

(you will want to make sure that the book you choose is for developers, not users, and has intermediate material as well as beginner material (e.g. NOT something like a Learn Access in 24 Hours book). Sure books are expensive, all the more reason that you will want a comprehensive book  --- that will be useful beyond this semester)

 

Course Description:

                Databases are everywhere. Data is a crucial resource for most organizations, so effective storage and access of that data is an important concern.

This course is intended to introduce the student to the important principles of database management systems and the design of databases. In addition, the student will gain experience working with practical database management packages: Oracle and Microsoft Access. Most of the course lectures will focus on the theory; some lab time for learning the packages is planned.  The student will develop a database application using Access; it is expected that the student can learn some of the details about Access on their own.  Oracle is a large professional package, with many features including design and development tools; our work with Oracle will focus on SQL.

This course focuses on Relational Database theory - which is the current technology. The text reflects that emphasis. There may be some discussion of previous database organizations that are still found in industry (hierarchical and network). We may also discuss new technology (object-based databases).

The course is intended for students in both computer science and information technology, as well as other students who have an interest in developing databases.

 

Project:

You will develop an application working in a group of 3 people. You will be assigned to groups. The most efficient approach is to use meetings to divide up work, monitor progress, ensure consistency, etc, with the brunt of the work done outside meetings.  Note also that, to discourage slackers, 1) included in the project hand-in, you will specify which parts of the project each person was responsible for, and 2) you may be asked to rate the level of effort of group members at the end of the semester. In most cases, the effort should be equal, especially since all students know ahead of time that they must pull their weight. Or 3) I may interview people about aspects of the design / development. Note that if you do not do your share of the project you can get a lower grade than the group grade. If there appears to be a problem in a group, first try to solve it internally. If that doesn't solve the problem, as a last resort (but before the end of the term), I may have to mediate.

The project will be a prototype, it will not be a complete bullet-proof application. Information about the application will be distributed shortly. However, you will not be able to make much progress on the project until after you thoroughly understand database design (covered in early part of course). The database design for your project is due Oct 17; a first installment of the project will be due Nov 10,  the whole application is due Dec 5 (the last day of class). Projects will be demoed in class during the week of Dec 1. Groups will present their database design and their prototype.  All students are expected to be present and to participate equally in the group presentation. Work done in Access before your database design is correct may require substantial re-work (i.e. the first priority is to get the database design right). Thus, you may find it useful to turn in your design early.

Grading:

                Midterm #1                                            15%

                Midterm #2                                            15%

                Final Exam                             15%

                Class Participation                                 5%

                Individual Assignments                     10% (5% for SQL assignment, 5% for all others combined)

                Group Application                               40% (5% DB design; 10% first installment; 20% final product; 5% presentation)

 

                Final Grades:

A             92-100                     A-           90-91

B+           88-89                       B             82-87                       B-            80-81

C+           78-79                       C             72-77                       C-            70-71

D+           68-69                       D             60-67                       F              < 60

 

·         There will be several, varied (mostly short) assignments over the course of the semester. The largest will involve using SQL in Oracle. The second largest will probably be E/R diagrams using Visio.

·         Do your own assignments !!!!  Work that is copied or done with somebody (when not assigned to a group) will be punished. If in a group/pair, your group must do its own work.

·         Late Assignments  -20% per weekday (NOTE - NOT per CLASS)

                                UNLESS SPECIFIED OTHERWISE ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS

                                 -10% if handed in after start of class and before I leave for the day.

·         Class participation grades will be assigned systematically using attendance, plus participation including questions, comments, and responding to instructor’s questions in class. Deductions could be made for insufficient participation in team work (in addition to any deductions on project grade).

·         Makeup exams only by advance arrangements or for documented real emergencies, such as medical problems. Makeup may involve double-counting your final exam.

·         The Final Exam is cumulative, though it will focus more on the (previously untested) final section of the course.

 

Students generally do better in courses if they read the section of the textbook BEFORE it is presented in class, since they are prepared to ask questions. Working end-of-chapter exercises is a good test of your understanding.

 

 

                Course Objectives

 

Concepts:

1. The student should understand the benefits of database management systems.

 

2. The student should understand the process of semantic data modeling including the entity-relationship approach.

 

3. The student should understand the principles that should be used in designing a relational database, including normalization techniques.

 

4. The student should understand the issues and possible ways of handling relational data integrity constraints.

 

5. The student should understand the relational algebra.

 

6. The student should understand the importance of views, to provide logical data independence and some degree of privacy.

 

7. The student should understand the issues involved in transaction processing.

 

Applications:

1. The student should gain some exposure and experience with a commercial relational database management system (RDBMS). The student should be able to define and set up a relational database using the RDBMS.

 

2.        The student should gain experience working on a group database application development project.

 

3. The student should understand how to define database structures and how to specify database queries using SQL, and gain experience writing SQL queries on a practical system.

Tentative Course Plan:

Date                Material                                                                      Reading

Aug 25                   Intro to Class

Aug 27                   Intro to Databases, Access                (IN LAB)                                                Chapt 1, Section 1.1

Aug 29                   Intro to Microsoft Access – Tables

 

Sept 1                     LABOR DAY – NO CLASS

Sept 3                     Files vs Databases                                                                               Sections 1.2, 1.3

Sept 5                     Microsoft Access – Relationships

 

Sept 8                     Database Models                                                                                 Sections 1.5,1.6

Sept 10                   Relational Databases                                                                           Chapt 2, Sections 2.1-2.3

Sept 12                   Microsoft Access – Forms

 

Sept 15                   Relationships and Redundancy                                                        Sections 2.6,2.7

Sept 17                   Entity Relationship Modeling                                                            Section 3.3

Sept 19                   E/R Modeling using Visio

 

Sept 22                   Data Abstraction                                                                                 Chapter 3, Sections 3.1,3.2

Sept 24                   Entity Relationship Modeling                                                            Section 3.3

Sept 26                   Entity Relationship Modeling (NOT in LAB)                  Section 3.3

 

Sept 29                   MIDTERM  #1                     

Oct 1                       The Need for Normalization                                                               Section 4.1.1

Oct 3                       Microsoft Access - Queries

 

Oct 6                       First Normal Form, Functional Dependencies                                 Sections 4.1.2, 2.2

Oct 8                       Second Normal Form                                                                           Section 4.1.3

Oct 10                     Microsoft Access – Reports and Macros

 

Oct 13                     Third Normal Form                                                                               Section 4.1.4.

Oct 15                     Normalization and DB Design, Normalization Tradeoffs               Sections 4.2, 4.4  

Oct 17                     Relational Algebra (NOT in LAB)                                                     Section 2.4 Project DB Design Due

 

Oct 20                     FALL BREAK – NO CLASS

Oct 22                     Relational Algebra

Oct 24                     SQL Queries Using Oracle                                                  Sections 5.3.3., 5.4, 5.6.1

                                                                                                               

Oct 27                     SQL Queries                                                         

Oct 29                     SQL Queries Using Oracle (IN LAB)

Oct 31                     SQL Queries Using Oracle

 

Nov 3                     SQL Queries

Nov 5                     SQL Queries – Aggregation Using Oracle (IN LAB)                     Sections 5.6.3, 5.6.4  

Nov 7                     SQL Queries – Aggregation Using Oracle                                       Project First Installment Due

 

Nov 10                   SQL Updates                                                                                        Sections 5.3.1, 5.5.6, 5.3.4, 5.3.6

Nov 12                   SQL Updates Using Oracle (IN LAB)                                                              

Nov 14                   SQL Data Definition                                                                            Sections 5.1, 5.2

 

Nov 17                   MIDTERM #2

Nov 19                   SQL triggers, Stored Procedures                                                       Section 5.8

Nov 21                   Transactions (NOT in LAB)                                                               Section 9.1

 

Nov 24                   Concurrency Control                                                                           Section 9.2

Nov 26 & 28          THANKSGIVING BREAK – NO CLASS

 

Dec 1-3                   Locking                                                                                                  Section 9.3

Dec 3-5                   Group Presentations

Final Exam: Dec 12 2:30pm