Principles of database systems
R Simpson
6 points * 4 hours per week * Second semester * Caulfield
Information sources, information management, structured and non-structured information, the composite office document (data, image and video), serial storage media, serial and sequential file organisation, extracting, sorting, merging, updating data, randomly addressable storage, random and relative file organisation, key transforms, file space allocation, disk directories, indexing techniques, indexed files, inverted files. Logical data structures: trees, networks, lists, rings. Physical implementations, entry point access, navigational access, the database concept, database models, theory and practice of relational database management systems, the CODASYL approach, distributed databases, text storage, retrieval strategies, strategies for archiving information, information services available.
Assessment
Examination (2 hours): 50% * Practical work, laboratory work and seminar participation: 50%
Prescribed texts
Pratt P J Microcomputer database management using dBase IV 2nd edn, Boyd and Fraser, 1988