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Spring 2009
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Fall 2002 - Spring 2005

INF3560: Database Design - Syllabus

Course Objectives

Relational databases pervade the corporate landscape. They store the data which is lifeblood of the modern corporation. The smooth operation of corporate databases is often a critical component of corporate success. This course introduces the concepts necessary to model data for use in relational databases. We will cover how to design a database and store, retrieve and manipulate data in various ways. We will cover both theory and practical skills. There are many DataBase Management System (DBMS) products on the market today. Each one is based on the same underlying theory but may have some practical differences. We will study the general theory and will use the "Microsoft SQL Server" DBMS for practical applications.

Required Text

Recommended Text

Software

We will be using Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express for in-class work and homework assignments. This software is NOT installed on any of the publicly accessable computers. You can download a free copy of the software from Microsoft's website from the following location: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/express/aa718378.aspx.

Grading

What if I miss a test?

  1. DON'T
  2. If you miss an exam you MUST bring a doctor's note. If you anticipate that you will miss an exam for any reason you MUST let me know as early in advance as possible.
  3. There will be NO retests. If you have a valid excuse for missing an exam (valid is up to me) then the points for that exam will be added to the final (i.e. the final will be worth 65% of your grade.
  4. DO NOT MISS BOTH TESTs

Homework

Download the HW assignments from http://yrosenthal.com/pub/murachsql2005/Exercises.doc. You will need a password to access this file. I will tell you the password on the first day of class. You are required to do all of the problems for each chapter as we complete the chapters.

Homeworks must be submitted via the Angel system BEFORE the next class. HW MAY NOT BE SUBMITTED LATE. If you will miss class, you can still submit the HW via Angel. We may or may not review the homework in class. If we do not review a HW in class then I will provide a solution that you can review at home. For most homeworks I will not be strict about your getting all homework problems correct. I want to see that you have attaempted the solution and have posted an answer that shows me that you tried. For these homeworks you will get full credit if you post a reasonable attempt at an answer. You will get no credit if your answer is copied or shows that you didn't even try. There may be some homeworks that I will grade on a point system. I will let you know which ones those will be when they are assigned.

Attendance

You are permitted up to 3 absences. If you have more than 3 absenses then you MUST have a very good reason for ALL of your absenses or else your grade may suffer.

Class Notes

We will cover some information in class that is not in the book. If you miss a class, make sure to get the notes from someone who was there.

Topics

TEST #2 - Murach chaps 9 - 16 (and any other information that we cover)

Date Topics Readings (from Murach)

Week 1

Intro to relational databases and SQL Server. DBMS architecture: 3 tiered design - clients/appliation servers/DB server. Structure of a relational DB - tables, columns, rows, etc, using management studio. Introduction to SELECT, WHERE, ORDER BY.

Chaps 1, 2

Week 2

Details of SELECT statement: string and arithmetic expressions, functions, DISTINCT, TOP, comparison operators, AND, OR, NOT, IN, BETWEEN, LIKE, IS [NOT] NULL, aliases and column numbers. Simple INNER joins to retrieve data from multiple tables. Newer and older JOIN syntax. RIGHT, LEFT and FULL OUTER JOINS, CROSS JOINS.

Chaps 3, 4

Week 3

set operations - UNION, EXCEPT, INTERSECT, aggregate functions, GROUP BY, HAVING. Introduction to subqueries, correlated and non-correlated subqueries, subqueries that return 1 column and 1 row/many rows, IN, ALL, ANY, SOME, EXISTS

end of Chap 4, Chaps 5, 6

Week 4

INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, SQL Data Types, CAST, CONVERT, string/numeric/date/other functions

Chaps 7, 8

Week 5

TEST #1 - on Murach chapters 1 through 8 (and any other information that we cover)

Creating database objects (database, tables, indexes, etc), ALTER, designing a database, normal forms

Chaps 9, 10, 11, handouts

Week 6

Views - creating views, updatable/non-updatable views, using views to insert/delete records, catalog views (database dictionary), scripts, scalar/table variables, temporary tables, conditional processing, error handling, system functions and session settings, dynamic SQL

Chaps 12, 13

Week 7

Stored procedures, user defined functions, triggers

Chaps 14

Week 8

More stored procedures, cursors

Chaps 14, 15

Week 9

Transactions

Chaps 16

Week 10

Database Security

Chaps 17

Week 11

Data warehouse technology and management.

Handouts

Week 12

XML

Chaps 18

Week 13

Writing application code to access databases

Handouts