This course provides an introduction to Database Management System (DBMS). We focus on the most widely used relational data model. Students will become familiar with the design of database applications and use of databases. We study design tools, database modeling and query languages, including the Structured Query Language (SQL). The official course outline can be found here: CMPT 354 D100.
Instructor: Hazra Imran
Office Location: TASC 1 9409.
Office Hours: Friday 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM.
Piazza Office Hour: Thursday 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM.
E-mail: himran@sfu.ca
( All general questions should be posted on the Piazza so everyone can help each other quickly. If you need to email me directly, please put “CMPT 354” in the Subject line and use your SFU email account or your message could get misdirected.)
Teaching Assistant:
Yajie Zhou
E-mail: yajiez@sfu.ca
Office Hours: Monday 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Office Location: ASB 9808 ( Updated )
(Yajie is here to help you learn and support me in evaluating the progress of your learning. She will be answering your questions on Piazza, undertaking the grading of your work, and holding office hours (if you cannot make that time, email her to see if you can work out an alternative time).
CMPT 225, and (MACM 101 or (ENSC 251 and ENSC 252))
Throughout this course, we’ll be using various technologies to help us communicate, assess your learning, and keep organized. They are all accessible via a central portal: Canvas.
Your performance in the class will be based on a number of activities. Final grades will be calculated as follows:
Students must attain an overall passing grade on the weighted average of exams in the course to obtain a clear pass (C- or better).
The course includes six assignments to be submitted electronically through Canvas. Students are encouraged to discuss assignment problems with each other and form study groups. However, final assignment submissions must be generated independently, and you will only receive credit for your work. Work submitted late is subject to a penalty of 10% per day late(e.g. An assignment evaluated at 80% but submitted two days late will be awarded a mark of 60%.).There is a minimum penalty of 10% for work handed in after 11:59 p.m. on the due date. Weekends count the same as weekdays. Assignments more than THREE (03) days late will not be accepted.No excuses for submitting assignments late will be accepted, except perhaps a doctor's note that says you were unable to finish the task anytime between when it was assigned and due.
Assignment | Weight | Tentative Due Date |
---|---|---|
Assignment 1 | 3% | May 25 |
Assignment 2 | 3% | June 1 |
Assignment 3 | 3% | June 13 |
Assignment 4 | 3% | June 27 |
Assignment 5 | 4% | July 13 |
Assignment 6 | 4% | July 30 |
This course includes an obligatory group project. The project will be completed in groups of four. You need to self-enroll yourself in the group already created on Canvas. More information related to project can be found here.
There will be two midterms and a final examination. You can use a handwritten cheat sheet, 1 (one) 8.5 x 11 sheet of notes for reference, both sides.
Please do not come to the class if you are very sick. It's not good for you and for the rest of us. Do contact the instructor by e-mail immediately when you know you will miss a graded assessment (e.g.,Exam/Project/Assignments).
Academic honesty plays a key role in our efforts to maintain a high standard of academic excellence and integrity. Students are advised that ALL acts of intellectual dishonesty will be handled in accordance with the SFU Academic Honesty and Student Conduct Policies.
Students are encouraged to discuss the material in this course. We all learn better when we share thoughts/ideas with others. Unless explicitly told otherwise, you are to complete assignments independently. You must not look at other students' solutions, and you may not post your solutions to public websites or repositories.
Most well-known DBMS applications fall into the relational database management systems (RDBMS) category. Examples include MySQL, Oracle, MS SQL Server and SQL Lite. They all use Structured Query Language (SQL) to manipulate data. The difference between each database systems are the features and functionalities that they offer.
For assignments, we will use CSIL Microsoft SQL Server. The scripts will be provided, and you will be creating the tables in your database. The information related to the CSIL server can be found here. If you want to install a personal copy of SQL Server on your machine, you can use the link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/sql-server/sql-server-downloads
For the group project, you can choose any relational database.
Problems with Computing Science Instructional Labs (CSIL) should be directed to helpdesk@cs.sfu.ca.