CSCI 4707 (Fall 2023): Practice of Database Systems

Course Overview

• Instructor: Chang Ge (Please prefix subject line with CSCI4707 for all emails)
• In-person sessions: 2:30-3:45PM Mondays and Wednesdays, at Bruininks Hall 412
• Office hour: 1:45-2:30PM Mondays and Wednesdays, at Keller Hall 4-213
• Online platforms:
  • Canvas for announcements
  • Piazza for Q&A
  • Gradescope for submissions
• TAs (check Piazza for office hours):
  • Yuchuan Huang, lead TA on labs
  • Arig Mostafa, lead TA on homeworks
  • Shengya Zhang, lead TA on exams

This course covers the basic concepts and elements of database management by providing an introduction to the relational data model and its languages. The course also studies database design methodology, storage, indexing, query evaluation, and transaction management. Students gain experience using and building applications on top of the major open-sourced PostgreSQL by completing several assignments. Students also gain hands-on experience with implementing new functions into PostgreSQL source code. Through written and coding tasks as well as close interactions with the instructor and TAs, students are exposed to both the theory and engineering behind classic database systems, and can expect to build a foundational knowledge toward modern large-scale data processing and analysis.

Format

The course is organized as a sequence of in-person lectures by the instructor, usually two times a week. The semester-long lectures consist of seven modules, where later modules normally rely on previous ones. During the semester, there will be four written homeworks and three lab exercises to deepen understanding of the subject. Two checkpoint midterms will be held during lecture hours, and the final exam will be scheduled to the end of the lectures.

Textbook

• Raghu Ramakrishnan, Johannes Gehrke: Database management systems (3. ed.). McGraw-Hill 2003, ISBN 978-0-07-115110-8

• Hector Garcia-Molina, Jeffrey D. Ullman, Jennifer Widom: Database systems - the complete book (2. ed.). Pearson Education 2009, ISBN 978-0-13-187325-4
• Ling Liu, M. Tamer Özsu: Encyclopedia of Database Systems, Second Edition. Springer 2018, ISBN 978-1-4614-8266-6

Grading

Late submission without prior consent is not accepted. All deadlines refer to the beginning of class on that day (2:29PM Central Time).

• Four homeworks: 20% (5% × 4)
• Three labs: 30%
• Lab1: 6%
• Lab2: 12%
• Lab3: 12%
• Two midterm exams: 25% (12.5% × 2)
• Final exam: 25%

Schedule

University Policies

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• Mental Health and Stress Management
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