SSC, 6. semester

Introduction to Information Systems

Description

Databases are at the heart of modern commercial application development. Their use extends beyond this to many applications and environments where large amounts of data must be stored for efficient  update and retrieval. The purpose of this course is to provide an introduction to the design and  use of database systems, as well as an appreciation of the key issues in building such systems in heterogeneous and Web environments.

We begin by covering the relational model and the SQL language. We then study methods for database design, covering the entity relationship model. Next, we discuss XML as a data model, and present languages for querying it. We see how XML is used for sharing data among different applications in a distributed environment. Finally, we touch on some advanced topics on the implementation of database systems, such as transactions and indexing.
 

Credits: 4
Written exam (The exam will be written and comparable to the exercises. It also will refer to aspects treated in the project.)
Time and Place: Friday 08:00 - 10:00, room ELA 1, Friday 10:00 - 12:00, INF 1, INF 3.
Newsgroup: epfl.ic.cours.IIS

Prerequisites

  • Java programming

Team

Lecturers      

Prof. Karl Aberer

http://lsirpeople.epfl.ch/aberer/

Office: BC 108 (by appointment only)

 

Philippe Cudré-Mauroux

http://lsirpeople.epfl.ch/pcudre/

Office: BC 114 (by appointment only)

 

 

 

 

 

Exercises

 

 

Gleb Skobeltsyn Office hours: Tuesdays 2pm-4pm (BC 170)
     
Project    
Martin Rubli (coordinator)    
Etienne Jodoin    

Exercises

  • All exercises are done individually.

Finale Grade

  • 50% project, 50% exam

Projects

  • More details about the projects here.

Lecture Schedule

Date Slides/Homeworks Title Project Deadlines
11.03.05 Lecture: Introduction (ppt), Basic SQL (ppt) Project Introduction
18.03.05
Lecture: Advanced SQL (ppt)
18.03.05 Exercise 1: SQL (on machines) - Solution  
25.03.05
Easter Holidays
01.04.05
Easter Holidays  
08.04.05
Lecture: Conceptual Modelling and Schema Design (ppt)
08.04.05
Project phase 1
15.04.05
Lecture: Database Programming, JDBC (ppt),
Intro to Regular Expressions (ppt)

15.04.05
Project phase 1
22.04.05
Lecture: Functional Dependencies (ppt) Project phase 1 due
22.04.05 Exercise 2: Functional Dependencies and Rel. Algebra - Solution Debriefing phase 1
29.04.05
Lecture: Relational Algebra (ppt)
29.04.05
Project phase 2
06.05.05
Lecture: Introduction to XML (ppt)
06.05.05
Exercise 3: XML and XQuery - Solution
06.05.05 Project phase 2  
13.05.05
Lecture: XML and XQuery (ppt)
19.05.05   Project phase 2 due 24h00
(extended deadline, see posts on newsgroup)
20.05.05
Lecture: Web Services (ppt) (tutorial)
20.05.05 Project phase 3  
27.05.05
Lecture: Transactions (ppt)
27.05.05
Exercise 4: Transactions - Solution Debriefing phase 2
03.06.05
Lecture: Recovery (ppt)
03.06.05
Project phase 3
10.06.05
Lecture: Database Heterogeneity (ppt) Project phase 3 due 24h00
10.06.05 Project phase 3  
17.06.05
Test exam, not graded (ELA1, 09h00 - 11h00) solution

07.07.05 Final exam (CO2, 14h15 - 17h15)
Authorized documents: lecture slides, source code + documentation from project, exercices / solutions, IIS summary by Martin, personal notes
 

Programming

Some programming will be necessary in this course for the project. One can only start to appreciate database systems by actually trying to use one. The exercises will be with mostly no programming (except the first one).

Tools

The World-Wide Web and e-mail will be used extensively to provide you with course information, such as the schedule mentioned above, homework assignments and solutions, class messages and many other things.

Web sources

Literature

Main book

 

Databases and Transaction Processing, An application-oriented approach: Philip M. Lewis, Arthur Bernstein, Michael Kifer, Addison-Wesley 2002.

Other books

  Database Systems: The Complete Book: Hector Garcia-Molina, Jeffrey Ullman, Jennifer Widom
  Database Management Systems: Ramakrishnan
  Fundamentals of Database Systems, Elmasri, Navathe
  Database Systems, Date (7. edition)
  Modern Database Management, Hoffer, (4. edition)
 

Database Systems Concepts, Silverschatz, (4. edition)

Attendance

I hope you will attend every lecture. If you miss a lecture, talk to a friend who was present, and be sure to check the Web site for any information passed during the lecture.

Academic Misconduct

All work turned in is expected to be your own. Although students are encouraged to study together, each student is expected to produce his or her own solution to the homework problems and projects. Copying or using sections of someone else's or some other group's program, even if it has been modified by you, is not acceptable.