Undergraduate Course: Database Systems (INFR09011)
Course Outline
| School | School of Informatics |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 9 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Credits | 10 |
| Home subject area | Informatics |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
http://www.inf.ed.ac.uk/teaching/courses/dbs |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | Databases are essential to maintaining the information base in almost all modern business enterprises and to electronic commerce. They are also becoming increasingly important as a fundamental tool in much scientific research. Some knowledge of databases is now essential in any of these areas. The study of databases draws on several areas of computer science: logic, algorithms, programming languages and operating systems.
This course is an introduction to the principles underlying the design and implementation of databases and database management systems. It will cover the languages that have been developed for relational databases, their implementation and optimisation. It will also introduce some recent developments in databases including object-oriented, object-relational systems, semistructured data and the relationship between databases and XML. The bare essentials of transaction processing will also be covered. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Successful completion of Year 2 of an Informatics Single or Combined Degree, or equivalent by permission of the School. Students are expected to have taken a basic course in logic and discrete mathematics.
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| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Delivery period: 2012/13 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1)
|
WebCT enabled: No |
Quota: None |
| Location |
Activity |
Description |
Weeks |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
| Central | Lecture | | 1-11 | | 11:10 - 13:00 | | | |
| First Class |
First class information not currently available |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours:Minutes |
|
|
| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | | 2:00 | | | | Resit Exam Diet (August) | | 2:00 | | |
|
| Delivery period: 2012/13 Semester 1, Part-year visiting students only (VV1)
|
WebCT enabled: No |
Quota: None |
| Location |
Activity |
Description |
Weeks |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
| Central | Lecture | | 1-11 | | 11:10 - 13:00 | | | |
| First Class |
First class information not currently available |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours:Minutes |
|
|
| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | | 2:00 | | |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
1 - Demonstrate a basic knowledge of serial data expressed in XML.
2 - Understand tools for structuring and querying XML.
3 - Demonstrate knowledge of relational database schema design by employing the concepts of normal forms and entity-relationship diagrams.
4 - Demonstrate knowledge of querying relational databases by using SQL.
5 - Demonstrate knowledge of query evaluation by describing and implementing database algorithms.
6 - Demonstrate knowledge of recent advances in database systems by identifying the connection between traditional relational databases and other data models and/or query languages.
7 - Demonstrate knowledge of concurrency control by describing transactional semantics.
|
Assessment Information
Written Examination 75
Assessed Assignments 25
Oral Presentations 0
Assessment
Several exercises, both pen-and-paper and practical.
If delivered in semester 1, this course will have an option for semester 1 only visiting undergraduate students, providing assessment prior to the end of the calendar year. |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
* Relational Model and Relational Algebra
* SQL and SQL DDL
* Designing databases: E-R diagrams and functional dependencies
* Datalog, recursive queries and graph queries
* Comprehensions and OQL
* XML: types and languages for XML
* HTML and PHP programming
* Query optimization and indexing
* Implementation of relational operations
* Transaction processing, concurrency and serialization
Relevant QAA Computing Curriculum Sections: Databases |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Raghu Ramakrishnan and Johannes Gehrke, Database Management Systems (Third Edition) McGraw-Hill 2000. |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Lectures 20
Tutorials 0
Timetabled Laboratories 0
Non-timetabled assessed assignments 30
Private Study/Other 50
Total 100 |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Nigel Goddard
Tel: (0131 6)51 3091
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Tamise Totterdell
Tel: 0131 650 9970
Email: |
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