CS3462 Introduction to Database Systems

Part I

Course Duration: One Semester

Credit Units: 3

Level: B3

Medium of Instruction: English

Pre-requisites:
CS2360 Java Programming /or
CS2362 Computer Programming for Engineers and Scientists /or
CS2363 Computer Programming

Pre-cursors: Nil

Equivalent Courses: Nil

Exclusive Courses: Nil

Part II

1.     Course Aims:

The aim of this course is to provide students with foundations in the principles of database design, implementation and management. This is an introductory course in database systems.  The main objective is to introduce the fundamental concepts of database systems and related technologies to students.  In addition, the course will also provide students with practical skills to administer and manipulate database systems of multiple databases.

2.      Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs):
(state what the student is expected to be able to do at the end of the course according to a given standard of performance)

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
 

No.	CILOs	Weighting(if applicable)
1.	Introduce various data models and their essential components of database management systems;
2.	Design a database and verify its correctness using database models;
3.	Perform database query and modification operations using commonly-used database query languages;
4.	Apply knowledge of database concurrency control and database recovery onto transaction management;
5.	Perform relational database normalization and relational algebra;
6.	Reorganize and integrate multiple databases.

3.      Teaching and learning Activities (TLAs):
(designed to facilitate students' achievement of the CILOs)

Teaching pattern:
Suggested lecture/tutorial/laboratory mix: 2 hrs. lecture; 1 hr. tutorial
 

ILO No	TLAs	Hours/week(if applicable)
CILO 1toCILO 6	Students will learn the basic concepts of database systems in lectures and gain practical experience on using and administering database management systems in tutorial sessions. Based on the Course ILOs, the teaching/learning activities of this course include traditional lectures and tutorial sessions.  This course may also include case studies.  In the lectures, concepts and techniques will be taught. Problem sets will be given to help students comprehend materials covered in class.  These activities help support Course ILO #1, #2, #3, #4 and #5.  In tutorial sessions, practical examples will be given to the concepts and techniques covered in lectures.  Students will also gain experience on using and administering some commonly-used database management systems. This series of activities supports Course ILO #6.  Cases studies may also be arranged for students to develop skills for tackling real-life problems in database systems.  The purpose is to strengthen the support of all the mentioned Course ILO items.

4.    Assessment Tasks/Activities:
(designed to assess how well the students achieve the CILOs)
 

ILO No	Type of assessment tasks/activities	Weighting(if applicable)	Remarks
CILO 1	Identify essential components of some particular types of database management systems. Coursework and Exam – Problem sets and examination questions will be used to evaluate this ILO. Questions and problem sets will be designed to evaluate how well students have understood the various data modelling techniques and data essential components of database management systems.
CILO 2	Design a database and verify its correctness using database models. Coursework and Exam – Various sample database applications and scenarios will be given and students will be asked to work out the process of database design, analysis and implementation. The performance of students on answering the questions will be a measure for this ILO.
CILO 3	Perform database query and modification operations using commonly-used database query languages, and analyze the correctness and effectiveness of queries. Coursework project – The quality of students' work on a database inventory project making queries and modifications to a relational database system using structural query language will be used to assess this ILO.
CILO 4	Apply knowledge of database concurrency control onto transaction management. Coursework and Exam – Students will be asked to safe guard database failures problem and solve some typical transaction management problems by applying techniques such as locking mechanism and timestamping.
CILO 5	Perform relational database normalization. Coursework and Exam – Questions and exercises on relational algebra formal method and the various normalization rules and techniques will be designed and used as a measure for this ILO.
CILO 6	Apply and explain advanced concepts and notions of database management systems in integration, schema mapping, data conversion and integration, and transaction translation for multiple databases. Exam – Students will be asked to apply various concepts of advanced database systems to solve some practical problems which are designed to evaluate whether the students have grasped the correct notions of those advanced database system concepts.

5.     Grading of Student Achievement:

Examination duration: 2 hours
Percentage of coursework, examination, etc.: 50% CW; 50% Exam
Grading pattern: Standard (A+AA-…F)
For a student to pass the course, at least 30% of the maximum mark for the examination must be obtained.

Part III

Keyword Syllabus:

A selection of topics from the following: relational model, object-oriented model, XML model, SQL, query-by-example, relational algebra and relational calculus, extended entity-relationship modelling, normalization, transaction management, query processing,  database systems recovery and currency control, and schema mapping, data conversion and integration and transaction translation for multiple databases systems, etc.