CS 338 | SCS

This course is designed primarily to meet the needs of students who are interested in the business or public sector of the economy. The course presents methods used for the storage, selection, and presentation of data.

Intended Audience

Though, by nature, this course will be of prime interest to students enrolled in the Business Administration and Chartered Accountancy options, many students may find this course a valuable addition to their academic plan. A parallel course, CS 348, is available for CS majors.

Related Courses

Prerequisites: CS 230 or 234 or 241 or 330. Not open to Computer Science students.

References

Fundamentals of Database Systems, 6th ed., R. Elmasri and S. Navathe, Addison Wesley, 2010.

Schedule

Notes

Outline

Introduction (2-3 hours)

The recognition of data as a business resource, complementing money and people. Consequences of data mismanagement. The increase in database usage from a historical perspective.

Models and Systems (15 hours)

Enterprise modelling using Entity-Relationship diagrams. Corresponding database design using the relational model. Data definition, manipulation, and query using SQL. Alternative approaches, including relational algebra.

Database Design (6-9 hours)

The roles of the data administrator and database administrator. Benefits of data independence. Applications development. Implications of common query processing strategies on database design and on query formulation. Accommodating data dependencies and other constraints in database design.

Integrity Concerns (4-6 hours)

Volatile versus non-volatile memory. Transaction processing. Checkpoints and recovery. Security. Data redundancy revisited.

Distributed Databases (2-3 hours)

Partitioning data to mirror organizational structure. Implications of remote data communication.

Non-Traditional Databases (0-3 hours)

Miscellaneous topics may be covered as time permits, such as: text, CAD/CAM, geographical and other applications; personal databases.