CS 377 - Database Systems

Overview

This is an introduction course on database systems. It introduces the fundamental concepts of the design and use of database systems. We will introduce the Entity-relationship model used to design a database. The main focus of the course will be relational database systems where we will study the relational data model and the SQL query language for accessing the data maintained by relational database systems. We will briefly cover database systems implementation, including topics such as indexing, storage management, transaction processing.

Contacting your Instructor

Please direct all technical questions related to the course material (e.g., assignments, lecture clarifications, etc.) to our Piazza Page. Any email regarding technical questions will be a redirected to posting on Piazza. Myself, the TAs, and your fellow students will respond there as soon as we can! For anything else (e.g., private matters, course accommodations, etc.) 

Textbook(s):

• [Recommended] Fundamentals of Database Systems (6th / 7th edition), by Ramez Elmasri & Shamkant B. Navathe
• [Supplemental] Database Systems: The Complete Book, by Hector Garcia-Molina, Jeffrey D. Ullman, & Jennifer Widom
• [Supplemental] Database System Concepts, by Abraham Silberschatz, Henry Korth, & S. Sudarshan
• [Supplemental] Online mini-courses (https://online.stanford.edu/courses/soe-ydatabases-databases) by Professor Jennifer Widom at Stanford University

Course Grading

Your grade will be determined by a weighted average of all the graded items. Grades may be curved (up) so that the class mean falls at least in a B range. The class median, mean, and standard deviation for each assignment and exam will be announced so you have an idea where you stand. The participation element consists of monthly surveys on Piazza and class.

Assignment Policy

Assignments are designed to help you apply the concepts we discussed in class and get practical experience with database systems. They will be submitted electronically on Canvas and due at 11:59 PM ET (EDT until November 7th when we move back to EST). If it is submitted even one second after 11:59 PM, it will be considered late, so please submit early!

• Unless stated otherwise, assignments are expected to be completed individually. Online resources may be consulted for guidance or debugging purposes, but students may not look up how to explicitly perform the task at hand. Students may discuss high-level problems together, but when it comes to writing down the solution, each student must work alone (see Honor Code below).
• Do not consult with each other's code or online code. Solutions which are not your own should never be copied and pasted (from online or from a peer). This is plagiarism and is grounds for an honor code investigation.

Late Assignment Policy

• Each student receives six "late day" tokens that can be used on any of the 6 assignments (5 regular assignments + 1 final project) throughout the semester. Each token will extend the assignment due date by 24-hours. For a single assignment, no more than 3 late day tokens may be used.
• There is no need to inform the instructor or the TAs you will be using the late days. This will be automatically tracked on our part throughout the semester.
• Use your late days wisely, no more late days remaining means you will receive zero credit for any late assignment.
• Additional extensions on assignments will be granted with appropriate documentation from the Office of Undergraduate Education (OUE).

Honor Code and Collaboration Policy

All class work is governed by the  College Honor Code  and the  Department Statement of Policy on Computer Assignments. While we encourage you to discuss assignments with other students, any code and writeups must be written by yourself. It is not okay to share code or write code collaboratively (this includes posting and/or sharing your code publicly). Apparent copies from any source, including your colleagues and internet sites, will be referred to the Emory Honor Council. Every assignment must have a README file with the following comment:

Students with Documented Disabilities

If you have a documented disability and have anticipated barriers related to the format or requirements of this course, or presume having a disability (e.g. mental health, attention, learning, vision, hearing, physical or systemic), and are in need of accommodations for this semester, we encourage you to contact the  Department of Accessibility Services (DAS)  to learn more about the registration process and steps for requesting accommodations.

If you are a student that is currently registered with DAS and have not received a copy of your accommodation notification letter within the first week of class, please notify DAS immediately. Students who have accommodations in place are encouraged to contact me during the first week of the semester, to communicate your specific needs for the course as it relates to your approved accommodations. All discussions with DAS and faculty concerning the nature of your disability remain confidential.

Lecture Schedule

The reading material listed below is optional, but it refers to Fundamentals of Database Systems (7th edition) by Ramez Elmasri & Shamkant B. Navathe. The lecture plan may deviate over the course of the semester.