CS 307, Using and Designing Databases

Course Outline

Professor: Lin Jensen
e-Mail:
Office: Johnson 103
Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays 11:00-12:00 , or by appointment
see also cs.ubishops.ca/ljensen
Course meets MWF 10:00 - 11:00 in NIC-213.
Lab Fridays 1:00 - 4:00 in room J-118

Textbook: "Database Systems, the Complete Book, second edition" Hector Garcia-Molina, Jeffrey Ullman, Jennifer Widom. ISBN 978-0-13-18325-4.
Note:  the second half may be used for CS 457, Database system implementation.
OR "A First Course in Database Systems", 3rd edition" by Jeffrey Ullman & Jennifer Widom. (out of print) (Both these books are in the Library.)

Land Acknowledgement

Calendar description: This course presents data modeling (Entity-Relationship model, UML, etc..), relational algebra, normalization, SQL language. Implementation of databases using the relational model is discussed. Object-oriented modeling and implementation is also introduced. Other topics include: Concurrency control, transaction processing, client-server systems, distributed databases, and web-based delivery of data.

Practical work will use PostgreSQL and its interfaces to programming languages.

Topics

Will not necessarily be covered in this order. Textbook locations in italics.

• Data modeling -- Chapter 4 -- Entity-relationship modeling, UML
• Relational Database modeling -- Chapter 2
  • Relational Algebra section 2.4
  • Converting E-R models to relations  --  4.5
  • Normalization -- Chapter 3
  • SQL Language -- Chapter 6
  • Client-server systems -- 8.3.4
  • Examples using PostgreSQL, an open-source client-server DBMS -- www.postgresql.org
  • Constraints and Triggers (and PostgreSQL "Rules") -- Chapter 7
  • Server side programming: plpgsql language -- Postgres documentation
  • Client side "API" programming using the language of your choice -- 9.6
• Transaction processing -- Concurrency control: Locking and timestamping --  6.6
• Other implementation methods
  • Object-oriented -- 4.9
  • Object-relational -- 10.3
  • Example: Inheritance and Large Object management in PostgreSQL
• Current topics
  • Web-based implementations using PHP -- Another API, section 9.7

Grading scheme:

As Departmental policy, you must pass the final exam to pass the course. Supplemental exams will not be allowed. You will get the same grade in both CS 307 and CSL 307.

2 delays allowed

Anyone can get sick, have conflicting family commitments, or unexpected emergencies. Therefore, at most 2 assignments or labs may be submitted up to one week late. This "grace" allowance is intended to cover unexpected contingencies, and should not be used frivolously early in the semester.

• You must notify me if this is the case.
  
• The grace assignments will not be marked promptly. You may not get them back until the end of the semester.
• Once you have used up your 2 grace submissions, further late assignments will not be marked, and you will get no credit.