CSE 532 -- SYLLABUS

Objectives

This course assumes that the students have already taken an introductory database course and have working knowledge of SQL, relational algebra, functional dependencies, the Relational Normalization Theory, the E-R model, embedded SQL, JDBC, B-trees, etc.

We will study aspects of query languages that are not normally covered in an undergraduate course, such as relational calculus, QBE, Datalog, query optimization, etc. The main part fo the course will be dealing with object-oriented databases and XML. Towards the end we will study distributed databases, OLAP, and data mining.

Prerequisites

A substantial undergraduate database course, such as CSE 305
Good knowledge of Java, JDBC, servlets, and JSP.
You should brush up your math skills, especially discrete math. You have to have working knowledge of mathematical induction, logic, and related material. Without this, some parts of the course will be inaccessible to you and successful completion will be in question.

There will be a quiz (see the schedule) at the beginning of the course, which will test your knowledge of the undergraduate material. Students who score less than 50/100 will not be allowed to continue. The quiz will be based on Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the textbook.

Coursework

The projects are integral part of the course as they provide concrete experience with the abstract ideas covered in the class.

The following info must be prominently visible in program file headers (as a comment) and in items submitted as a hard copy:

Student number
Your first/last name
Your email address
Course number: CSE532
Project number (e.g., Project 2)
Due date

Your projects and homeworks must be submitted in a neat and organized fashion. They must be typed, bound or stapled---aesthetics is an important factor in helping others to understand your work. You will loose points if these conditions are not met.

Your approach to solving problems is as important as the final result. You must show how you arrived at your solution and include appropriate explanations.

All assignments are to be done individually except when explicitly stated otherwise in the assignment sheet. In group projects, the project document must explicitly state who did which part of the project. Regardless of who did what, all members of the group must be on top of all aspects of the joint work.

Important: You must keep copies of all your homeworks and project files as your supporting documents in case of a dispute.

If you feel that your grade was assigned incorrectly and you deserve a higher grade, please meet with the TA who graded your work. You must schedule an appointment or come to an office hour. All appeals must be submitted within two weeks of the date the particular assignment was returned to the class.

Project

There will be three projects. In one, you will be using Datalog; the second project will use Java, JDBC, and SQL with object-relational extensions to build a database application; and in the third project you will be building the same application using XML, XML Schema, and XQuery. All three projects must be accompanied by a design document. See project details for futher information.

Computing facilities

All projects will use the Transaction Processing Lab or the PUBLAB. Your CS account (you@cs.sunysb.edu) should work for both. NEVER let anyone use your account. It is against the rules. Violating this rule may result in suspension of your account privileges! Please be conscious about security in the labs. Theft or vandalism will be punished severely.

NOTE: with any problems concerning the database server and the labs write to rt@cs.sunysb.edu. Please do not email any of these concerns to the instructor or the TA, since we cannot fix these problems.

Grading policy

This course will be graded based on one midterm, one final examinations, on the project and homeworks:

Project1:	 	8%
Project2:	 	11%
Project3:	 	11%
Midterm exam:          	30%
Final exam:          	40%

Incomplete (I) grades will not be given in this course. There will be no make-up exams or extra credit work.

Grades will be assigned based on the raw scores that you get for the projects and examinations. There will be little or no curving. The reason is that the examinations are designed to test the understanding of the material rather than to challenge you with hard questions. This is not a new course and we know exactly what is reasonable to expect.

The examinations are viewed as the main test of the material. It will not be possible to get a good grade through the project alone. To get a high grade you must score high on all parts of the course.

Academic conduct

You can discuss the intellectual aspects of the course material with others, but not the specifics of homework assignments and projects.
Any collaboration on any part of any assignment is prohibited unless explicitly stated otherwise in the description of the assignment.

If you help another student with a homework, use examples that do not resemble those in the homework. Keep in mind that there are numerous ways to solve the same problem and essentially similar solutions can be formulated in many different ways. Therefore, suspiciously similar works will be considered as evidence of disallowed collaboration or plagiarism.
It is highly recommended not to test the limits of the above policy. To avoid any misunderstanding, the following rules will be adopted:

Copying an assignment from another student in this class or obtaining a solution from some other source will lead to an automatic ``F'' for this course and to a disciplinary action. p
Allowing another student to copy one's work will be treated as an act of academic dishonesty, leading to the same penalty as copying.
Same applies to any form of collaboration on any assignment unless explicitly permitted in writing.
You should learn how to protect your data. Failure to do so is unprofessional and it may expose you to the danger that someone will copy your homework and will submit it as his or her own (see above). In this case, you may be given a score of ``0'' for the assignment in question (and the other party will get an "F").

Course Schedule

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