Course Overview

This is an introduction course on database systems. It introduces the fundamental concepts of the design and use of database systems. We will introduce the Entity-relationship model used to design a database. The main focus of the course will be relational database systems where we will study the relational data model and the SQL query language for accessing the data maintained by relational database systems. We will also give a brief overview of database systems implementation, including topics such as storage management and transaction processing.

Instructor: Joyce Ho
Office Hours: Tu/Th 1-4 pm at MSC W414

TA: Camilo Valderrama
Office Hours: M 2-4 pm at MSC N410

Lectures and Assignments

Course Prerequisites

CS171 or equivalent

Textbook

• Recommended: Fundamentals of Database Systems (6th / 7th edition), by Ramez Elmasri & Shamkant B. Navathe
• Supplemental: Database System Concepts, by Abraham Silberschatz, Henry Korth, & S. Sudarshan
• Supplemental: Database Systems: The Complete Book, by Hector Garcia-Molina, Jeffrey D. Ullman, & Jennifer Widom

Course Grading

Your grade will be determined by a weighted average of all the graded items. *Grades may be curved (up) so that the class mean falls at least in a B range. The class median and mean for each assignment and exam will be announced so you have an idea where you stand. A participation element has been added which will consist of your attendance, your effort level in the class, short bi-weekly quizzes, and monthly surveys.

Late Policies

All exams must be taken promptly at the required time. Requets for rescheduling the midterm exam will only be considered if the request is made at least a week prior to the exam date. The final can not be rescheduled.

You have 2 late assignment allowances, each can be used to turn in a single late assignment within 3 days of the due date without penalty. Beyond this allowance, late assignment will be accepted within 3 days of the due date and penalized 10% per day. No extensions will be given. The late assignment allowance cannot be combined with the 10% penalty for an additional 6 days. In other words, an assignment will only be accepted within 3 days of the due date - otherwise any submission will result in 0 points. Please note on the assignment if you wish to use the late assignment allowance.

The above policies will be waived only in an "emergency" situation with appropriate documentation.

Honor Code

All class work is governed by the College Honor Code and Departmental Policy. It is acceptable and encouraged to discuss assignments and projects with other students but but any code and writeups must be written by yourself. Every program assignment must have the following comment included at the top of the file.

/* THIS CODE IS MY OWN WORK, IT WAS WRITTEN WITHOUT CONSULTING CODE WRITTEN BY OTHER STUDENTS. _Your_Name_Here_ */