SWEN435 (2023) - Database System Engineering

Prescription

The course addresses fundamental principles underlying databases and database management systems. It covers the structure and principles of the relational data model, including SQL, and the principled design of the relational database schema. It also addresses issues in database transaction procession, concurrency control, recovery, and the complexity of query processing.

Course learning objectives

Students who pass this course should be able to:

1. Demonstrate understanding of the principles of database systems generally and especially the relational database model.
2. Set up, query, and update a relational database using interactive SQL and using a transaction program written in Java.
3. Apply database principles, including data integrity and normalisation principles, and common trade-offs in designing a relational database.
4. Apply principles and common trade-offs in relational database query optimization.
5. Explain the basic principles of database concurrency control and recovery and implement them within a transaction program.
6. Explain the basic principles of NoSQL databases.

Course content

This course is designed for in-person study, and students are strongly recommended to attend lectures and tutorials on campus. In particular, some assessment items or practical hands-on labs will require in-person attendance, although exceptions can be made under special circumstances.
 
Queries about any such exceptions can be sent to remote-enrolments@ecs.vuw.ac.nz.

Withdrawal from Course

Withdrawal dates and process:
https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/students/study/course-additions-withdrawals

Lecturers

Teaching Format

For students in Wellington, there will be a combination of in-person components and web/internet based resources. It will also be possible to take the course entirely online for those who cannot attend on campus, with all the components provided in-person also made available online.
 
During the trimester there will be three lectures per week. Some lecture times will be used for tutorials.

Dates (trimester, teaching & break dates)

• Teaching: 27 February 2023 - 02 June 2023
• Break: 10 April 2023 - 23 April 2023
• Study period: 05 June 2023 - 08 June 2023
• Exam period: 09 June 2023 - 24 June 2023

Set Texts and Recommended Readings

Required

The textbook for SWEN 435 (available from Vic Books, or you can seek out alternate options or e-books from any publisher or supplier available to you) is:

• R. Elmasri and S. Navathe, Fundamentals of Database Systems; 6th/7th edition, Pearson/Addison Wesley, 2014/2015

Mandatory Course Requirements

In addition to achieving an overall pass mark of at least 50%, students must:

• Achieve at least 40% of the overall marks for projects and assignments (i.e. 40%*50 marks), to demonstrate achievement of all the CLOs of the course.
• Achieve at least a D grade for the Final Test.

If you believe that exceptional circumstances may prevent you from meeting the mandatory course requirements, contact the Course Coordinator for advice as soon as possible.

Assessment

Assessment Item	Due Date or Test Date	CLO(s)	Percentage
Assignment 1	Week 5	CLO: 1	10%
Assignment 2	Week 8	CLO: 4	5%
Assignment 3	Week 11	CLO: 3	5%
Project 1	Week 7	CLO: 2	20%
Project 2	Week 12	CLO: 2,5	10%
Essay		CLO: 6	15%
Final Test		CLO: 1,2,3,4,5,6	35%

Penalties

Any assignment or project submitted after the due date will be penalized at the rate of 5% per day. Assignments that are more than one week late will not be marked.

Extensions

Approval to submit assignments and projects late without penalty will only be granted in exceptional circumstances whenever possible arranged prior to the due date. Medical and other excuses may be accompanied by a doctor's certificate.

Submission & Return

Unless otherwise instructed, assignments and projecs may be submitted via the School's electronic submission system or SWEN 435 assignment box on level 2 of the Cotton Building. Marks and comments will be returned through the ECS marking system or via the hard copy of the submitted assignments or projects.

Workload

In order to maintain satisfactory progress in SWEN 435, you should plan to spend an average of 10 hours per week on this paper, which includes attending lectures, solving homework assignments, doing practical work, additional reading, and reviewing lecture material.

Teaching Plan

See: https://ecs.wgtn.ac.nz/Courses/SWEN304_2023T1/LectureSchedule

Communication of Additional Information

The main means of communication outside of lectures will be the SWEN 435 web area at https://ecs.wgtn.ac.nz/Courses/SWEN435_2023T1/. There you will find, among other things, this document, the lecture schedule and assignment handouts, and the SWEN 435 Forum. The forum is a web-based bulletin board system. Questions and comments can be posted to the forum, and staff will read these posts and frequently respond to them.

Links to General Course Information

• Academic Integrity and Plagiarism: https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/students/support/student-interest-and-conflict-resolution/academic-integrity
• Academic Progress: https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/students/study/progress/academic-progess (including restrictions and non-engagement)
• Dates and deadlines: https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/students/study/dates
• Grades: https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/students/study/progress/grades
• Special passes: Refer to the Assessment Handbook, at https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/documents/policy/staff-policy/assessment-handbook.pdf
• Statutes and policies, e.g. Student Conduct Statute: https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/about/governance/strategy
• Student support: https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/students/support
• Students with disabilities: https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/st_services/disability/
• Student Charter: https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/learning-teaching/learning-partnerships/student-charter
• Student Feedback on University courses may be found at: http://www.cad.vuw.ac.nz/feedback/feedback_display.php
• Terms and Conditions: https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/study/apply-enrol/terms-conditions/student-contract
• Turnitin: http://www.cad.vuw.ac.nz/wiki/index.php/Turnitin
• University structure: https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/about/governance/structure
• The Use of Te Reo Māori for Assessment Policy:
  Victoria University values te reo Māori. Students who wish to submit any of their assessments in te reo Māori must refer to The Use of Te Reo Māori for Assessment Policy
  He mea nui te reo Māori ki te Whare Wānanga o te Ūpoko o te Ika. Ki te pīrangi koe ki te tuhituhi i ō aro matawai i roto i te reo Māori, tēnā me mātua whakapā atu ki te kaupapa here, The Use of Te Reo Māori for Assessment Policy
• VUWSA: http://www.vuwsa.org.nz

Offering CRN: 35116

Points: 15
Prerequisites: 60 300-level pts of COMP, NWEN, SWEN
Restrictions: SWEN 304, SWEN 439 in 2021-2022
Duration: 27 February 2023 - 25 June 2023
Starts: Trimester 1
Campus: Kelburn