91.309 Database I (Spring 2001)
University of Massachusetts, Lowell
Department of Computer Science
 
URL: //www.cs.uml.edu/~lechner/91.309/01s309syl.htm
Ref: /usr/proj3/case/01s309/01s309syl.htm}
 
Instructor: Prof. Robert Lechner (lechner@cs.uml.edu)
Office: OS105A, ext. 3632; alternate phone: 781-444-8321
Office Hours: Mon Wed Fri: 2-430PM (others by email appointment)
Text: Connolly/Begg/Strachman: Database Systems -
A Practical Approach to Design, Implementation and Management (2nd Edition), Addison-Wesley 1999.

Description:
This course emphasizes conceptual understanding and effective design of database systems. Topics include comparative study of various data models, file organization and storage structures, the conceptual, logical and physical design of databases, and various database manipulation and query languages. Students will collaborate on a database design project using MS-ACCESS on the MS-Windows platform.

Exams: Two one-hour exams and one Final Exam. (All exams will permit open book and notes.)

Grading Policy: Each hour exam: 20%; Final exam: 25%; Project and Assignments: 35%.

Reading Assignments: Please read all assigned sections of the text before each class.

Homework Assignments:
Besides the assigned readings, these include problems and a project. To keep up with course material, you should read the assigned text before each class, and problems should be done individually. I invite emailed questions; responses will augment a FAQ list.

Late assignments:
Unless otherwise announced, assignments submitted within one week of their due date will be reduced by one letter grade. Any assignment more than one week late will earn a grade of D and may not be graded. By submitting incomplete assignments on time, you will get early and more effective feedback.

Design and implementation project tasks:
On programing projects, partnering is encouraged (two to four persons per team). Each team should hand in only one clearly labeled and dated hard copy of each assignment. Emailed submissions are also OK, if both authors are identified. Final project documents, implementation and test files should be saved under /usr/proj3/case/01s309/teamid/*.

Documentation: Neat and legible documentation is expected, and required for a good grade:

  • Good documentation includes complete printable identification (absolute path-name, revision date, and author name) inside each source code or diagram file.
  • Each program and routine should have an effective header preamble (purpose, behavior if not obvious, and side effects if any). Each formal parameter should have a comment stating its purpose and units of measurement if not obvious.
  • Each method or transaction should have a preamble that defines (or invoke assert macros that check) any non-trivial pre- and post-conditions for each transaction type.