Description

CS 4604 is intended to be a first course in database systems for advanced undergraduates in computer science. It offers students an introduction to the design and programming of database systems. In particular, we will cover the ER (entity-relationship) approach to data modeling, the relational model of database management systems (DBMSs) and the use of query languages such as SQL. We will also cover relational algebra and the use of SQL in a programming environment. We will also touch upon query processing and the role of transaction management. We will also devote some time to current topics of research such as XML databases, data mining and MapReduce (Hadoop). Topics outside the scope of this course are how to implement a DBMS in detail, active database elements, and object oriented DBMSs.

Why do we do databases?

Course Information

Instructor:
  B. Aditya Prakash
  Torg 3160F
  Office Hours: 2:00pm-3:15pm, Tuesday and Thursday
  Email: badityap AT cs DOT vt DOT edu
  Important: Please include CS 4604 in the subject line of all email messages that you send me.
Teaching Assistants:
1.   Qianzhou Du
    McBryde 106
    Office Hours: 1:30pm-3:30pm, Monday and Wednesday
    Email: qiand12 AT vt DOT edu
2.   Pranav Nakate
    McBryde 106
    Office Hours: 1pm-3pm, Friday
    Email: npranav AT vt DOT edu
Class Time: Tuesday and Thursday, 3:30-4:45pm, Randolph Hall 331.
Discussion: Piazza link.
Grading and Policies: See here. (please make sure you have gone through it at least once)

Textbooks and Resources

Required:
Database Management Systems (3rd Ed.) by Raghu Ramakrishnan and Johannes Gehrke
Optional:
Database Systems: The Complete Book (6th Ed.) by Hector Garcia-Molina, Jeffrey Ullman and Jennifer Widom
Database System Concepts (6th Ed.) by Avi Silberschatz, Henry Korth and S. Sudarshan

See other resources (pointers to datasets, code etc.) here.

Announcements

Final grades have been posted---enjoy the summer!
Final Review Posted---make sure to check it out. Final exam on 05/10.
Practice Problems released. Solutions after next lecture.
Project Assignment 3 is out. Due 05/06, 12:00noon.
Homework 7 is out. Due 04/24.
Homework 6 is out. Due 04/15.
Handout 3 on FDs and normalization is out. We will discuss some of the questions in class and solutions will be posted later next week.
Project Assignment 2 is out. Due 04/08.
Homework 5 is out. Check out the AWS setup as well. Due 04/01.
Homework 4 is out. Check out information about using the PostgreSQL server as well. Due 03/25.
Midterm Exam on 03/06 in class. See Review (Slides 90-104).
Homework 3 is out. Due 03/04.
No class on 02/25.
Project Assignment 1 is out. Due 02/25.
Handouts 1 and 2 are out.
Homework 2 is out. Due 02/20.
Homework 1 is out. Due 02/11.
Welcome to the class! First class on 01/21.

Handouts and Practice Problems

Homeworks

Homework 1 (Due: Tue, Feb 11, 2014) [Solution]
Homework 2 (Due: Tue, Feb 20, 2014) [Solution]
Homework 3 (Due: Tue, Mar 04, 2014) [Solution]
Homework 4 (Due: Tue, Mar 25, 2014) [Solution]
Homework 5 and AWS Setup (Due: Tue, Apr 01, 2014) [Solution]
Homework 6 (Due: Tue, Apr 15, 2014) [Solution]
Homework 7 (Due: Tue, Apr 24, 2014) [Solution]

Course Project

Using the PostgreSQL server. (useful for HW4, and Project Assignments 2 and 3)
Project Assignment 1 (also contains the overview) (Due: Tue, Feb 25, 2014) [Solution]
Project Assignment 2 (Due: Tue, Apr 08, 2014) [Solution]
Project Assignment 3 (Due: Tue, May 06, 2014)

Schedule (tentative)

For lecture slides and readings, go here.

The Relational Model
Relational Algebra and SQL
E/R Models
Storing Data and Indexes
Hashing/Sorting and Query Processing
Query Optimization
NoSQL and MapReduce
FDs, MVDs and Normalization
Transactions and Concurrency Control
Logging and Recovery
XML, Data Mining, Data-warehousing

Acknowledgements

Amazon's AWS in Education grant program for generously providing support for Amazon Web Services.