Principles of database systems
G Martin
6 points * First/Second semester * Caulfield * Prohibitions: BUS2112, CFR2132, CFR2201, COT2132, COT2138, COT2180, COT2901, CSC3161
Data processing and databases. Project planning. Three schema architecture. Data as a resource. User requirements. Database logical design. Data, information and semantics. Data relationships. Introduction to data modelling: the E-R diagram. The extended E-R diagram. Process modelling. Logical access paths. Business rules. The database specification. Introduction to the relational model. Normalisation. Mapping to relational model. Data manipulation. Relational algebra. SQL. The system files. Database catalogues. Integrity constraints. Relationship levels. The Parser. Physical storage devices. File spaces. Directories. File Manager. Disk Manager. Physical design. Hardware and software selection. Programming applications. Transaction processing. Selection of suitable data structures. System tuning. Data takeup. Testing. System maintenance. Extracting, sorting, merging, updating data. Data archiving. Addressability. Denormalisation. Simple indexing. Access requirements: serial, sequential, random processing. Data structures. Heap structure. Sorting, physical clustering, dense and non-dense indexing. Index sequential, B-tree structures. Hash files, data compression. Database administration. Database operations. Other types of databases: text, object-oriented, rule-based, multi-media.
Assessment
Examination (2 hours): 50% * Practical work: 50%
Prescribed texts
Pratt P J Microcomputer database management using dBase IV version 1.1 3rd edn, Boyd and Fraser, 1992
This text is available from the University Bookshop (Caulfield) It includes dBase IV example files on floppy disk. If you have access to dBase IV you may like to work through some of the practical modules in Pratt prior to the class.
Recommended texts
Date C J An introduction to database systems vol I, 5th edn, Addison-Wesley, 1990
Hawryszkiewycz I T Relational database design: An introduction Prentice-Hall, 1990
McFadden F R and Hoffer J A Modern database management 4th edn, 1994
Teorey T J Database modelling and design Morgan Kaufmann, 1990