Database Programming

Comp 353-001/453-001

Spring 2012: Thursdays, 7:00-9:30, CLC 523

Text: Elmasri & Navathe, Fundamentals of Database Systems 6e, Pearson 2010, ISBN-10: 0136086209, ISBN-13:  9780136086208

There will be several assignments during the semester, plus a midterm and final. The assignments will be worth about 30% of your grade, the midterm 30%, and the final 40%. The midterm will be March 15; the final will be Thursday, May 3, at our usual time.

My general course groundrules are here.


The course-evaluation survey is here.

Here's where to get MySQL Community Server, v 5.5.20, an open-source database. I also recommend downloading the reference manual. (Note that Oracle, through its purchase of Sun, now owns the commercial part of MySQL.) You do not (as of Jan 2012) have to create an account, though they ask you to.

Here's where to get Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (standard edition). You may have to create a free account before you can download, and to do that you must sign up for at least one mailing list (you can cancel later). (Maybe this has changed?) I do not anticipate any student assignments requiring oracle.

We will also use Postgresql in class, at postgresql.org.

Further installation information is here (for both MySQL and Oracle).

Notes on installing WAMP (windows LAMP)

Notes on installing PEAR under windows


Final exam study guide

Final exam notes sheets. The final exam will not be open-book, but you will be given these notes during the exam. In addition, you may bring up to two single-sided sheets of your own notes.

Midterm exam study guide


Class notes and readings:

Week 1, Jan 19
Week 2, Jan 26 (including Homework 1)
Week 3, Feb 2
Week 4, Feb 9 (including Homework 2)
Week 5, Feb 16
Week 6, Feb 23
Week 7, Mar 1
Spring break
Week 8, Mar 15
Week 9, Mar 22
Week 10, Mar 29
Easter break: April 5
Week 11, Apr 12
Week 12, Apr 19
Week 13, Apr 26

Assignments

Homework 1: here (note correction from 4.8 to 4.7)

PHP project: here

Alternative java project: here

Examples


The company database (spreadsheet, files). To load this into mysql, the two main files are the table definitions and the data-insertion commands. You can paste these in, or use the source command in MySQL.

The university database (E&N p 8, Fig 1.2) used in Exercise 4.12, is here: student.text. I added three additional students, and their grades. You should be able to paste this in to MySQL.


In Spring 2012 we will consider some of the following topics: