UMUC-Europe Syllabus

IFSM 410 Database Concepts (3) Prerequisites: CMIS 102(or CMIS 102A) and IFSM 300. An introduction to the design and management of database systems in a business environment. Topics include the role of databases in organizations, the management of information as a critical business resource, types and functions of database management systems, conceptual data modeling and entity/relationship and semantic data models, and the fundamental principles of relational and object-oriented database design. The implementation and maintenance of database management systems and the role of the database administrator are discussed. Students may receive credit for only one of the following courses: CMIS 320 or IFSM 410.

Course Goals/Objectives:

After completing this course, the student should be able to: Identify and discuss the basic concepts of relational database theory and the life cycle of a database (competence in information technology) Create, update, and manipulate data and control access to a database using structured query language (competence in information technology) Develop an entity-level working model of a relational database founded on multiple-user views and requirements using database design language and data-structure diagrams (competence in information technology) Demonstrate the use of database design language and data-structure diagrams as tools for the design of table structures, attributes, and data validity (competence in information technology) Identify and analyze current database trends, such as data mining and object-oriented databases, and their potential impact on future database applications (competence in information technology, information literacy, effective writing) Compare and contrast these database trends with those found in a variety of global locations and situations (competence in information technology, international perspective, information literacy, effective writing) Discuss an architectural view of a database management system, including the roles and tools of a database administrator (competence in information technology)

Course Introduction:

Professionals in the information systems management field like to say, "Data are just data until they are ogranized in a meaningful way." It is only at this point that the data become information. How does this happen? By using relational database management systems (RDMSs), which sort through and manipulate data to reveal as-yet undiscovered knowledge. For instance, buried in a mass of data on last year's sales we can find buying trends if we know how to look for them. There are three basic operations in the life cycle of data: (1) acquisition, (2) storage, and (3) manipulation. Once you have acquired, or captured, data, you can make computations, move the data from one place to another, and modify them. Manipulating the data is called processing, and fundamentally involves the same three basic operations. Relational database management systems support this "aquire-store-manipulate" approach and provide clever tools that allow you considerable sophistication in capturing, editing, modifying, storing, and securing data, and retrieving them to manipulate and create ad hoc and scheduled reports. An RDMS turns data into information, and information is an economic asset in today's Information Age. This course will give you the tools to design, create, load, modify, and query relational databases with an RDMS.

Grading Information and Criteria:

Your grade will be calculated as follows: Midterm examination,..................50 points Final examination.....................60 points Project, including design report and documentation.........................50 points Homework..............................40 points TOTAL: 200 points Grading Scale: 180-200 points = A 160-179 points = B 140-159 points = C 120-140 points = D 0-119 points = F

Other Information:

None.

Project Descriptions:

Bring a one-paragraph proposal describing the database you intend to design, and telling what software you will use to implement it, the night of the midterm. I can read them and approve/disapprove/request further input while you are taking the test. If you do not have database software at home, please try to make plans to do the actual implementation in a UMUC computer lab. Most of your design work, the most critical part of the project, will not require use of the database software. First of all, select something you're interested in doing for your project. For example, if you have an extensive collection of CDs, you might want to design a database to keep track of them, and of which friends have borrowed which of them. The goal is for everyone to get at least a prototype of your database working, but please remember that the heaviest emphasis is on the DESIGN (which we'll be seeing in detail in chapters 6, 7, and 8). Assuming you get it working, please remember that this is not a data entry project -- a few carefully selected rows in your tables will be plenty -- illustrating your project with entries for 5 or 6 CDs would be just as good as putting in the data for all 500 of them, for example. Don't just put the following items in for the sake of having them there, they need to actually fit "naturally" into the project -- a good rule of thumb regarding project size is to have a minimum of 3 tables, 3 forms, 3 reports, 3 queries. Note that these should not just be trivial variations of basically the same query/report/form.

Academic Policies:

Cases of plagiarism are handled consistent with current UMUC guidelines. See the UMUC policies at the following URL: http://www.umuc.edu/policy/

Course Schedule:

Session Topics (read chapters BEFORE class!), Assignments due 1. Introduction File Systems and Databases Ch. 1 The Relational Database Model Ch. 2 2. Entity Relationship (E-R) Modeling Ch. 3 3. Normalization of DB Tables (Ch. 4) Homework 1 4. Structured Query Language (SQL) Ch. 5 5. SQL - cont'd; Database Design Ch. 6 Homework 2 6. Database Design Ch. 6, 7, 8 7. Questions Midterm Exam Project Proposals 8. Transaction Management and Concurrency Control Ch. 9 9. Distributed DBMS Ch. 10, Homework 3 10 Object-Oriented Databases Ch. 11 11. Client/Server Systems Ch. 12) Topic Presentations Project Design Documents 12 Data Warehousing Ch. 13 Topic Presentations Homework 4 13 Electronic Commerce Ch. 14 14. Web Database Development Ch. 15 Homework 5 15. Database Administration Ch. 16 Review 16 Questions; Final Exam, Projects and Written Documentation