COSC 4820 Database Systems

Course Introduction

Ruben Gamboa
Professor

This is the first in a two-course sequence on database systems
This course is designed to teach you how to use databases effectively
Almost all professional programmers use database systems
Every programmer is expected to know
- How to design a database schema to store information
- How to add data to a database
- How to use SQL (database query language)
- How to generate reports from a database

You will learn how to use databases effectively
That means you will learn
- Different ways to map "real world" information into a database and how to evaluate the different solutions
- Different ways to query databases
- How to write database applications (not database systems)

You will not learn (in this class) how to use specific databases, e.g., Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, SQLite, etc.
You will also not learn how to install, maintain, or manage databases
I.e., you will not learn enough to become a database administrator (DBA) just from this class
But the concepts you learn in this class will apply to all databases
With the knowledge you learn in this class, you will be able to use any of those databases effectively
That is enough for developers, and is is the first step towards becoming a DBA

You will also not learn the details of how databases are implemented and how to write your own database system
Nor will you learn about large-scale databases, e.g., distributed databases
And you will not learn about the very, very large-scale NoSQL databases that are not relational databases, e.g., Amazon Dynamo, Google BigTable, Facebook Cassandra, MongoDB, etc.

Those topics are covered in the second course (next semester???) of this two-course sequence
Finally, you will not learn about data mining or data warehousing
- Data mining is covered in the Data Mining course
- Data warehousing is partially covered in the College of Business information management courses
- We may do a little bit of data warehousing in Week 14 (but probably not)

Attendance is optional
But it will help you learn the material
- hence, pass the course
And it's worth an extra 5% bonus on exams
We use polleverywhere.com to keep track of attendance
- Build an account with polleverywhere.com!
- We'll start using it next class period

Exams must be taken on the scheduled date and time
I will arrange for a makeup, but only if you have a valid university excuse
Once you start taking an exam, you may not stop for any reason until you turn in the exam for grading

Assignments
- The assignments will be similar to exercises from the book
- You will take the assignments through http://www.gradiance.com
- Assignments must be turned in on time
- Submission windows close automatically!
Project
- The project is the database portion of a web application
- You will be implementing the project in pieces
Exams
- The exams will include primarily questions that are similar to those in the assignments
- The exams will also include a few questions that ask you to tie together ideas learned in several sections
- Sample exams in WyoCourses (but take with a grain of salt)

You can recover half of the points of that question if you answer correctly a similar question in the final exam

Basic rules for redemption points:
- You must need redemption (score no more than 50% of the points in a question on an exam)
- You must request redemption points in the Google Form (see syllabus)
- You must be lucky enough that there is a similar question on the final exam
- You must redeem yourself (score at least 90% on the similar question in the final exam)

In doing the assignments, you may collaborate, search the internet, read different database books, etc.
Feel free to learn with others, but always do your own work so you're prepared for the exams

Academic dishonesty
- Zero tolerance
- You will get a zero for the offending work
- You will also lose a letter grade at the end of the semester
- Do your own work, and come see me if you need help

Handouts, grades, and announcements
First task: Update your profile to include your picture
- And upload a useful photo, not one of these:

Come see me during office hours
- see syllabus for times (it's complicated)
- or by appointment
Email is OK for private matters
But I prefer that you ask class-related questions by creating a new discussion thread in WyoCourses, so everyone can benefit
(And check to see if your question has been answered already)