CS5480 Distributed and Interoperable Database

Part I

Course Duration: One semester
Credit Units: 3
Level: P5
Medium of Instruction: English
Prerequisites: Nil 
Precursors: CS3402 Database Systems, or equivalent
Equivalent Courses: Nil
Exclusive Courses: Nil

Part II

Course Aims
This course aims to develop the concepts and principles in storing and processing data in distributed and heterogeneous environments.

Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs)
Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:

No.

CILOs

Weighting
(if applicable)

1.

understand the techniques and concepts of centralized database technology and systems;

20%

2.

perform a detailed analysis of the various requirements for distributed applications;

20%

3.

study and grasp the advanced concepts and techniques of distributed database systems;

20%

4.

evaluate the pros and cons of current distributed database systems for newly emerging applications;

30%

5.

analyze the trend of distributed database technology development.

10%

Teaching and Learning Activities (TLAs)
(Indicative of likely activities and tasks designed to facilitate students’ achievement of the CILOs. Final details will be provided to students in their first week of attendance in this course)

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

CILO No.

TLAs

Hours/week
(if applicable)

CILO 1

Lectures

Tutorial exercises

CILO 2

Lectures

Tutorial exercises

CILO 3

Lectures

Tutorial exercises

CILO 4

Lectures

Tutorial exercises

CILO 5

Lectures

Tutorial / Demonstration exercises


Assessment Tasks/Activities
(Indicative of likely activities and tasks designed to assess how well the students achieve the CILOs. Final details will be provided to students in their first week of attendance in this course)

   Examination duration:  2 hours
   Percentage of coursework, examination, etc.:  30% CW; 70% Exam

CILO No.

Type of Assessment Tasks/Activities

Weighting
(if applicable)

Remarks

CILO 1

Tutorial attendance

 

Quiz

 

 

 

CILO 2

Tutorial attendance

homework

Quiz

 

 

 

CILO 3

Tutorial attendance

homework

Quiz

Exam

 

 

CILO 4

Tutorial attendance

homework

 

Exam

 

 

CILO 5

Tutorial attendance

homework

 

Exam

 

 

TOTAL

5%

10%

15%

70%

100%

 

Grading of Student Achievement: Refer to Grading of Courses in the Academic Regulations
Grading pattern: Standard (A+, A, A-…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:

Principles, distribution transparency, fragmentation schemes, distributed queries, query optimization, distributed transactions, atomicity, concurrency control, deadlocks, timestamps, optimistic models, reliability, two phase commit protocol, object orientation, CORBA, open systems, interoperability, OLAP.

Syllabus

Principles of distributed databases
Levels of distribution transparency
Translation of global queries to fragment queries
Optimization of access strategies
Distributed transactions and characteristics
Concurrency control and deadlock handling
Two phase commit protocol
Object orientation and distributed object databases
Interoperability with CORBA
From OLTP to OLAP systems and applications

Related Links
Department of Computer Science