CS145 - Introduction to Databases Autumn Quarter 2007

Index

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Note: We are transitioning to using the renovated Coursework as the primary web resource of CS145. A demo of coursework is here (login as a student). As part of the transition, we are porting all of the information from this website to Coursework. In the meantime, if there is something you can't find on this website, check Coursework, and vice-versa. Optional discussions will also be on Coursework, not on the newsgroup. Gradiance assignments will still be on Gradiance, not Coursework.

Coursework

Coursework demo

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Course Information

1. There will be a review session on Mondays, 3:15PM in McCullough 115. It will be broadcast for TV students on Channel E1. Note: we had another notion of when these sessions would be held, so please ignore any previous messages.
2. Be sure to read the Course Introduction (HTML). Note that this is a ``living document''; it will change as new information about the course is known. Office hours are also listed there.
3. There is a new text for the course that will not be available until Sept. 28. However, you can see the first two chapters: Ch. 1 Ch. 2. Additional complications arise because some students may wish to buy a single text for both this course and CS245. Please see The Course Introduction for the details.

Outline, Schedule, and Readings

Resources

1. You can get handouts and exams from previous years through the web page of the textbook A First Course in Database Systems. For the latest information on errata, go to The Errata Sheet for DSCB and FCDB/2 or The Errata Sheet for FCDB/3.

2. If you haven't taken CS103 and are unsure whether you have the material, you may look at Class Notes for CS109 (109 was the old number for what is now 103).

3. SQL For Web Nerds is an amusing explication of SQL. You may wish to read several of the sections as we cover SQL in class.

4. There are tutorials about "X-stuff" (XML, XQuery, etc.) at W3 Schools.

5. For information about how to use the Stanford Oracle system, and to do things in Oracle generally, go to The Text's Oracle Guide. Note: Oracle gives mysterious error numbers when you do something wrong. Using the error-messaage number as a Google query often gives you an answer from some newsgroup that has discussed the problem.

6. To remotely login to a Leland server, you need SecureCRT. To transfer files between your local space and your Leland space, you need SecureFX. Information and downloads for both can be found here.

7. Prof. Widom's CS145 Notes from 2006. While we shall not deviate too much from last year's course, the emphasis is often somewhat different, and always interesting.

Assignments - see CourseWork for the latest to-do list.

1. Project Part 1: AuctionBase Schema and Data, due Wednesday 10/31/07 11:59PM. See Coursework --> assignments. FAQ. Help session files.
2. Project Part 2: Oracle Features, due Friday 11/9/07 11:59PM. See Coursework --> assignments. FAQ. Help session slides. Trigger Example.

Past Assignments

1. Gradiance Assignment on Relational Algebra, due Monday 10/8/07 11:59PM. 
2. Challenge Problems #1 on relational model/algebra, due Monday 10/8/07 11:59PM. See Coursework --> assignments. FAQ.
3. Gradiance Assignment Basic SQL, due Wednesday 10/10/07 11:59PM.
4. Gradiance SQL Lab (Kings) due Wednesday 10/10/07 11:59PM. Note: You find this work under "Labs." It requires you to write some SQL queries and tells you whether or not you are right. If not right, it shows you an example database where your query does the wrong thing. Note: if you write a query that works only on the examples, the system catches it and --- well try it and you'll see :-). 
5. Gradiance Assignment on Advanced SQL, due Wednesday 10/17/07 11:59PM.
6. Gradiance SQL Lab (Battleships), due Wednesday 10/17/07 11:59PM. Note: you should be aware of the fact that Gradiance runs queries using the mySQL database, and that there some nonstandard features of mySQL, including some bizarre behaviors of ANY and ALL. See the online mySQL guide.
7. Project Part 0: Oracle warm-up, due Wednesday 10/17/07 11:59PM. See Coursework --> assignments.
8. Gradiance Assignment on Constraints, Triggers, Transactions, and Views, due Wednesday 10/24/07 11:59PM.
9. Challenge Problems #2 on transactions/SQL, due Wednesday 10/24/07 11:59PM. See Coursework --> assignments. FAQ.

Lecture Notes

Date	PPT	PDF
9/24	Database Models	Database Models
9/26	Relational Algebra	Relational Algebra
10/1	SQL Introduction	SQL Introduction
10/3	More Rel. Alg. + SQL	More Rel. Alg. + SQL
10/8	Constraints and Triggers	Constraints and Triggers
10/10	Transactions, Views, Indexes	Transactions, Views, Indexes
10/15	Embedded SQL, PSM, PL/SQL	Embedded SQL, PSM, PL/SQL
10/17	CLI, JDBC, PHP	CLI, JDBC, PHP
10/22	DTD's, XML Schema	DTD's, XML Schema
10/24, 29	XPath, XQuery, XSLT	XPath, XQuery, XSLT
11/5	Design Theory for Relations (Ullman)	Design Theory for Relations (Ullman)
11/5	Design Theory for Relations (Yang)	Design Theory for Relations (Yang)
11/7	MVD's, 4NF, Inference	MVD's, 4NF, Inference
11/12	Entity/Relationship Model	Entity/Relationship Model
11/14	UML, ODL	UML, ODL
11/26	Authorization	Authorization
11/26-28	Datalog, Recursive SQL	Datalog, Recursive SQL
11/28-12/3	Object-Relational SQL	Object-Relational SQL
12/3	Information Integration	Information Integration
12/5	OLAP, Data Mining	OLAP, Data Mining

        Problem Session Notes