Spring 2008
CS480 "Database Systems"

Schedule: MW 3:00-4:15 pm
Room: 208 BH
Web: http://www.cs.uic.edu/~ifc/cs480/spring2008/index.html

About this page

This page offers a quick overview of CS480. However, most of the information for the course will be announced in class and/or posted in your Blackboard account for the course. If you have never used Blackboard, you can read the Blackboard Student Manual (PDF) or look immediately at the Student Frequently Asked Questions. If you do not have an account for CS480 in Blackboard, this problem can be solved quite easily provided that you let the instructor know about this.

Teaching Team and Office Hours

Instructor: Professor Isabel F. Cruz
Contact email: ifc@cs.uic.edu
Office: 1134 SEO
Office hours: MW 4:30-5:30pm

TA: Wenyuan Fei
Contact email: wfei2@uic.edu
Office: 1310 SEO, Phone number: 312-413-2347
Office hours: Tuesday 9:30-10:30am, Friday, 2:30-3:30 pm (starting January 22)

Book

Database Systems Concepts, Silberschatz, Korth, and Sudarshan, McGraw-Hill, 5th edition. Book web site: http://codex.cs.yale.edu/avi/db-book/

Course Contents

In this course you will learn the fundamental concepts of database systems, which include conceptual design, query languages, and implementation issues. The concepts and algorithms that we cover are often based on those used in commercial and experimental database systems. We will emphasize the relational model and also cover newer models and query languages, as well as new topics (e.g, data integration). Prerequisite: CS 202.

Grading and Important Dates (tentative)

Evaluation Components	Percentage
Assignments	25%-40%
Midterms and/or exams	60%-75%
Total	100%

First class: January 14, 2008
Martin Luther King's Day: January 21, 2008 (no class)
Last class: April 30, 2008

Regrades

Any requests for regrades of homework or midterms must be submitted in writing, along with the homework or the midterm within one week from the day it was returned. Your request must detail what you think was incorrect about the grading and must be submitted during regular office hours or immediately after a class.

Assignments

Each assignment will have a deadline (date and hour). Late assignments will not be considered unless as specified in the assignment handout. Most assignments will be due in class and you must hand them in person for obvious reasons (see Course Policy below).

Midterms/Exams

There will be no make-up midterms/exams. If you have a conflict with the midterm/exam, contact the instructor at least seven days in advance, so that your situation can be evaluated and a solution can be found. Of course, only serious conflicts will be considered.

Expectations of Students

If you are attending this class, you must be an experienced student already. Therefore, you also will know that what follows is the best way to get an A:

• Attend all classes. As you know, there are many benefits to attending every class, such as being guided through concepts and through examples by the instructor. In addition, hints might be given on how to solve a particular assignment question. By attending every class, you will also not miss any important announcement made in class. Another good reason to attend class: there are some points for regular class attendance.
• Start early. Start working on the assignments and start studying for the exams at least one week in advance. In this way you can clarify any questions you may have during the office hours.
• Check your assignments and exam. When you receive your assignment or exam back, make sure that all your questions were graded. (See the policy for Regrades, above). Likewise when you receive back an exam. If there is a concept you do not understand, clarify it: if a related question appears in the final exam, you want to make sure that you fully understand the concept.
• Check Blackboard daily. In this way you are sure you not to miss any announcement made in-between classes. Make sure that you are receiving the email messages that are sent to the whole class via Blackboard.

Course Policy

Academic dishonesty will result in immediate failing of the course and is grounds for dismissal from UIC.

Please note that:

• Individual assignment/projects must be performed by the student alone and group assignments/projects (if any) must be performed only by the elements of the group.
• Plagiarism, including copying information from the web, is a form of cheating.
• The TA uses several tools that are effective in detecting plagiarism.
• Regrettably the CS Department and Engineering College receive and investigate tips about cheating using "Rent a programmer" or other similar sites. As you can imagine, it is not technically difficult to detect or trap such instances.

When in doubt:

• Students are urged to check with the instructor on what constitutes proper and improper use of references both available in printed form or electronic form and on what constitutes proper and improper forms of collaboration and authoring. Understanding such distinctions will be extremely useful in a student's research or professional career.

Finally...

We believe that gaining knowledge in the subject of databases will open many opportunities in your life. If you have interviewed recently you know that the subject of databases comes up regularly in an interview. Many companies (e.g., Google) explicitly require database knowledge while others have large groups specifically developing databases (e.g., Microsoft). Many students before you have gotten very nice database-related jobs, or have gone on to pursue graduate degrees. Some (including several undergraduates) have even joined the ADVIS research group before going on to successful careers! Do not hesitate to ask questions and really make this course a valuable and enjoyable experience for you.

Isabel F. Cruz