Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996
Objectives At the completion of this subject students should be able to understand the features of databases in a commercial environment; carry out retrieval and update on a relational database using SQL; implement integrity features on a database; tune a database for optimum performance; and understand possible future directions of database technology.
Synopsis This subject aims to provide students with a thorough grounding in the theory and practice of database systems. The syllabus includes the following topics. Structures and techniques underlying databases - file organisations, data structures. The database concept - data sharing, related data, data independence, data integrity, data dictionary. Database models - hierarchical, network, relational. Relational databases - relational algebra, relational calculus, referential and entity integrity, SQL data definition, creating, amending and populating tables, data manipulation. Embedding SQL in host languages. Object-oriented databases. This is an eight-point version of COT2132.
Assessment Examination (2 hours): 60% + Assignment work: 40%