• Textbooks
• Instructor Information
• Course Description
• Course Objectives
• Course Procedures
• Grading Procedures
• Course Schedule

REQUIRED TEXT:
DATABASE PROCESSING Fundamentals, Design and Implementation, Eighth edition. By David Kroenke. Prentice Hall Publishing.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: An introduction to the design and theory of database systems. Topics include the entity relationship model, the relational database model, query languages, normal forms, database application architectures, database application drivers, security, distributed databases, and object oriented databases.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: The objectives for this course include:

• Students will be introduced to the process of designing and implementing a relational database.
• Students will be introduced to the methods and techniques of querying a database using using a query language such as SQL
• Students will be introduced to the process and issues involved in developing database applications
• Students will be introduced to the concepts and issues involved in creating and maintaining a database server for a large organization
• Students will be introduced to other database architetures including distributed databases and object oriented databases

COURSE PROCEDURES: This course will include lecture, discussion,and laboratory work. Class time will be spent lecturing and discussing material from the text, homework questions, and projects related to database management.  Each topic of the course will typically begin with some lecture describing the topic. Students will then be given the opportunity to apply the material through homework problems (generally questions from the text) and hands-on lab exercises. In addition students will complete a group project that will be worked on throughout the semester.

Software and Programming. Most lab and project work will be done using Microsoft Access 2000 which is available throughout campus. Programming will be done using Java. All programming will be done in pairs.

GRADING PROCEDURES: Students will be evaluated on their understanding of the concepts being covered in class, and their ability to apply those concepts in homework problems and other projects.

The final grade will be determined by the following distribution:

Academic Honesty. Collaboration in Computer Science, as in almost any field, is very important. However, it is also important that individual students learn the material. When working on homework problems, you are are encouraged to talk about the problems with other students. However, it is expected that you understand the answers you are turning in. When developing a developing a database project or program it is often beneficial to talk with others to get their input, however you or your group should not be turning in the work of another individual or group. It is acceptable to look at another individuals project or code if you are assisting them. You should not, however, let someone look at your code or project in order to show them how you did it, or to give them specific instructions on how they should change their code (other than to find syntactical errors).

Attendance. While attendance is not directly included in the grading, it has been the experience of the instructor that students who miss more class earn lower grades. Students who miss class regularly will be notified through the Academic alert system.

ADA Policy
Central College abides by interpretations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that stipulates no student shall be denied the benefits of an education “solely by reason of a handicap.” Disabilities covered by law include, but are not limited to, learning disabilities, hearing, sight or mobility impairments, and other health related impairments. If you have a documented disability that may have some impact on your work in this class and for which you may require accommodations, please see me and the Director of Student Support Services and Disability Services Coordinator so that such accommodations may be arranged.

COURSE SCHEDULE: The following is a TENTATIVE order in which the topics of the class will be covered. Changes may be made during thesemester as needed. Check the webpage for links to the lab exercises and assignments for more details and information about a specific lab or assignment.