School of Electronics and Computer Science:
COMP3017 Advanced Databases
Basic Information
| School | Dept- Electronics & Computer Science |
|---|---|
| Known as | COMP3017. |
| Session and Semester | Semester Two, 2011 - 2012 |
| Credit | 10 Credit Points |
| Unit Leader | Dr Nicholas Gibbins |
| Teachers | Prof Vladimiro Sassone |
| Moderators | Dr Ken S Thomas |
| Study | 100 hours total |
| Assessment | Examination 100% |
| Coursework | |
| Teaching | Lectures 24 |
| Prerequisites and Exclusions | Prerequisites: COMP2004 - Database Systems. |
| Referral | On referral, this unit will be assessed 100% by examination. |
| Syllabus Approved |
Description
Aims
Following on from the second year course on database systems, the aim of this course is to give students a deeper and broader view of the topic, through consideration of the elements of constructing database system software, and by examining the variety of systems and applications currently in use and being researched.
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- The issues involved in developing database management software
- The reasons for the variety of database types now available
- Deeper understanding of database applications and implementation techniques
- Parallel and distributed database systems
Intellectual Skills
Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to:
- Describe the variety of approaches taken
- Appreciate the issues to be addressed in writing database software
- Understand the relationship between Transaction Processing and Databases
Practical Skills
Having successfully completed the module, you will be able to:
- Select an appropriate database for an application
- Explain the latest developments in the use and application of databases
Topics Covered
- The Nature of Data
- Thinking more deeply about types of data
- Semantic data models
- Data domains and integrity constraints
- Database Internals
- How DB software is constructed
- How data is distributed and accessed
- Indexes, B-Trees and alternatives
- Concurrency control and locking
- Recovery and availability
- Performance and modelling
- Going Parallel
- Why parallel?
- Parallel architectures: hardware and software
- How to spread the data
- How to parallelize processing
- Breaking down Queries into separately executable elements
- Optimizing query strategies
- Comparison of DB Approaches (Revision and Extension)
- Flat Files and Indexed Sequential Systems
- Hierarchical Databases/Network DBs
- Relational Databases
- Object-Oriented Databases
- Object-Relational offerings
- XML databases
- Special Purpose Databases
- Temporal databases
- Spatial databases
- Multi-media databases
- Others
- Transaction Processing with databases
- ACID in depth
- The success of Transaction Processing based on the strict application of the ACID requirement
- Exploring the transaction models which start to relax requirements, showing where they are applicable
- Messaging and Queuing (MQ)
- Databases in Action
- Traditional and newer uses of databases
- Data warehouse
- Decision support systems
- Multi-Dimensional databases and analysis
- OLAP (On-line Analytical Processing)
- Data mining
Teaching and learning activities
Teaching methods include
- Lectures (2 per week)
Learning activities include
- In class discussions and exercises
Methods of assessment
| Assessment method | Number | % contribution to final mark |
|---|---|---|
| 2 hour Examination [exam] | 1 | 100 |
Resources
Core Resources
- Garcia-Molina H, Ullman JD and Widom J, Database Systems: The Complete Book, 2nd Edition, Pearson, 2009.
Background Resources
- Elmasri R and Navathe SB, Fundamentals of Database Systems, 4th Edition, Addison Wesley, 2004. This book covers most of the material on the course. [Library] [Shops]
- Connolly T, Begg C and Strachan A, Database Systems, 3rd Edition, Addison Wesley, 2002 [Library] [Shops]
- Date CJ, An Introduction to Database Systems, 8th Edition, Addison Wesley, 2003 [Library] [Shops]
- Gray J and Reuter A, Transaction Processing: Concepts and Techniques, Morgan Kaufmann, 1993 [Library] [Shops]
- Simon AR, Strategic Database Technology: Management for the Year 2000, Morgan Kaufmann, 1995 [Library] [Shops]
Taught to
COMP3017
Pt III BSc Computer Science (Optional)Non-existing cohort: "csBScAi3" (Optional)
Non-existing cohort: "csBScDs3" (Optional)
Non-existing cohort: "csBScIm3" (Optional)
Computer Science Integrated PhD (Optional)
Pt III MEng Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence (Optional)
Pt III MEng Computer Science (Optional)
Pt III MEng Computer Science with Distributed Systems & Networks (Optional)
Pt III MEng Computer Science with Image and Multimedia Systems (Optional)
Pt III MEng Computer Science with Mobile and Secure Systems (Optional)
ECS Socrates Students (Optional)
Pt III BSc IT in Org (Optional)
Pt III Mcomp IT in Org (Optional)
Pt III Units offered to other Faculties (Optional)
Pt III BEng Software Engineering (Optional)
Pt III MEng Software Engineering (Optional)
Students who are not registered on an ECS approved programme may take this module subject to meeting its pre-requisites and the availability of resources. To confirm this, please can you contact the module leader (as listed above) in the first instance. They will then refer you on to the appropriate director of studies for formal approval of your selection.