Course Description

The course provides an introduction to the basic features of Database Management Systems (DBMS), focusing on Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMSs). Students will obtain an understanding of how the different components of a DBMS system fit together. They will write programs to interact with a particular DBMS as a case study.

Prerequisites   CP264 (Data Structures II) or permission of the Depatment

Instructor   Ilias Kotsireas,  Office 2076A,
            Office Hours 24/7 and by appointment,  Phone 884-0710 ext. 2218  E-Mail ikotsire@wlu.ca

Textbook
R. Elmasri, S. Navathe 
Fundamentals of database systems, 4th ed.
Reading, Mass. : Addison-Wesley.

Notes & Overheads

1. Introduction
2. ER (Entity-Relationship Data Model) 
3. EER (Extended/Enhanced Entity-Relationship Data Model) 
4. Relational Data Model, Relational Algebra 
5. Relational Algebra
6. Relational Constraints
7. SQL (Structured Query Language)
8. JDBC
9. Tuple Relational Calculus 
10. Functional Dependencies + Normalization
11. Transactions
12. Recovery

Textbook Support Web Site   A link to the book support web page is available at: http://www.aw-bc.com/

Course Website   A link to the course web page is available at: http://sauron.wlu.ca/kotsireas/teaching.html

Lecture Topics

Databases Concepts and Architecture, Entity/Relationship (ER) Model, Extended Entity/Relationship (EER) Model, Object Model, Universal Modeling Language (UML), Relational Databases, Structured Query Language (SQL), ER to Relational and EER to Relational, Examples of Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS), Object-Oriented Databases, Functional Dependencies and Normal Forms, Transactions, Database Recovery, Database Security

Class Schedule

• Mon 11:30 - 12:20 Room BA110
• Wed 11:30 - 12:20 Room BA110
• Fri 11:30 - 12:20 Room BA110

Winter Semester Timetable

              |   Mon     |    Wed     |    Fri      |
              |11:30-12:20|11:30-12:20 |11:30-12:20  |        
	      |	  BA110   |   BA110    |   BA110     |
______________|___________|____________|_____________|_____
              |           |            |             |
Week 1:       |  Jan 5    |   Jan 7    |   Jan 9     |            
Week 2:       |  Jan 12   |   Jan 14   |   Jan 16    |   
Week 3:       |  Jan 19   |   Jan 21   |   Jan 23    |
Week 4:       |  Jan 26   |   Jan 28   |   Jan 30    |  
Week 5:       |  Feb 2    |   Feb 4    |   Feb 6     |
Week 6:       |  Feb 9    |   Feb 11   |   Feb 13    |
______________|___________|____________|_____________|______
              | 
Reading Week  |   Feb 16 - Feb 21   N o   C o u r s e s 
______________|_____________________________________________
              |           |            |             |
Week 7:       |  Feb 23   |   Feb 25   |   Feb 27    |
Week 8:       |  Mar 1    |   Mar 3    |   Mar 5     |
Week 9:       |  Mar 8    |   Mar 10   |   Mar 12    |
Week 10:      |  Mar 15   |   Mar 17   |   Mar 19    |
Week 11:      |  Mar 22   |   Mar 24   |   Mar 26    |
Week 12:      |  Mar 29   |   Mar 31   |   Apr 2     | 
______________|___________|____________|_____________|______
              |           |            |             |

Midterm Examination    Friday, February 13, 2004, Room: DAWB 2-201, Time: 2:30-4:00 p.m.

Assignment Schedule

• Assignment 1 due date: Friday, Jan 30, 2004, in class or by e-mail. ip-to-country.txt file
• Assignment 2 due date: Friday, March 12, 2004, in class or by e-mail
• Assignment 3 due date: Wednesday, March 24, 2004. Submit a typesetted paper copy. (handwritten paper copies will not be accepted)

Software available

SQL Anywhere 7.1 (Sybase Corporation)
SQL Anywhere runs as either a server or as a client. The department has SQL Anywhere servers on physcomp6 (an NT server), physcomp1 (a Solaris unix server), and sauron (the department web server). We have clients running on the PCs in the N2085 lab and on the Sun workstations in the N2095 lab. There are two front ends available: a Windows client (Sybase Central 3.2) and a Java client (Sybase Central 4.0). The Java version has more functionality than the Windows version, but its performance is somewhat less.

The Movie database may be accessed from the CP363 Movie Database web page, which allows you to execute SQL queries against the Movie database. The structure of the Movie database is given on the CP363 Movie Database Structure web page.

Final Examination

The CP363 Final Examination will be held on Thursday April 8, 2004 in the Athletic Complex, from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm.

The examination period for this course is April 7, 2004 to April 28, 2004.

Software for the course

SQL Anywhere 7.1 (Sybase Corporation)
SQL Anywhere runs as either a server or as a client. The department has SQL Anywhere servers on physcomp6 (an NT server), physcomp1 (a Solaris unix server), and sauron (the department web server). We have clients running on the PCs in the N2085 lab and on the Sun workstations in the N2095 lab. There are two front ends available: a Windows client (Sybase Central 3.2) and a Java client (Sybase Central 4.0). The Java version has more functionality than the Windows version, but its performance is somewhat less.

The Movie database may be accessed from the CP363 Movie Database web page, which allows you to execute SQL queries against the Movie database. The structure of the Movie database is given on the CP363 Movie Database Structure web page.

Student Evaluation

• The 3 assignment marks will account for 30% of the course grade.
• The midterm mark will account for 30% of the course grade.
• The final mark will account for 40% of the course grade.
• The final mark will be computed by scaling appropriately the 5 marks (3 assignments + midterm + final).

Databases Research

A valuable source of information on cutting-edge research in databases is the http://www.vldb.org/ web-based archive.
It contains information on:

1. the VLDB Conference Series (that have been held annually since 1975)
2. the VLDB Journal by Springer (published since 1992)

VLDB stands for: Very Large Data Bases