CSI 3317 -- Announcements

CSI 3317 -- Fall 2004

NOTE: the most recent announcements are on top of this page

08/01/05: Submited EXAM MARKS. This file has letter grades.

08/01/05: EXAM MARKS. You have until Tuesday noon to report any discrepancy to me. I have still to fine tune this file by resolving a few pending issues. So these are UNOFFICIAL marks. You should ask to review your exam only in case of real doubts. When remarking, your marks may also go down!

07/01/05: Average in the final exam is 66% for csi3317, and 69 for csi3717. Please come in to view your exam tomorrow afternoon (weather permitting !). I'll post the marks this evening.

21/12/04: The project submitted by Group 22, made of Reem Matar, Stefan Hamed, Brigette VanAert, Andnan Rahman, Jason Choueiri, and Zeina Abotteen has been chosen as the BEST PROJECT of the entire class. Congratulations !

06/12/04Sample normalization

29/11/04: I have extended due dates of the remaining course work as follows: A2: Dec 6; Project: Dec 10. These are absolute hard deadlines.

19/11/04: Here are a few changes wrt the project:
1. Part 3 is now worth 60% and Part 4 is worth 15%.
2. Make Part 4 as simple as possible. Use a readonly interface.
3. Any group that makes Part 4 capable of both querying and updating will receive a bonus of <=2% (final value TO DETERMINE).

This adjustment is made to be fair to both School of Management students (who do not have the same computer background as the CS students) and to CS students (who might have already done most of Part 4). Of course, there still is this price for the best project!

I still have marked copies of deliverables 2. Please pick them up. I did not bother postingthe marks because you all did extremely well in this small part.

14/11/04: Last year's final exam: eng, fr.

18/11/04: For the final exam, learn:

Chap 2: Sections 2.1--2.6;
Chap 3: Sections 3.1--3.5, and 3.7;
Chap 4: Sections 4.1, 4.2, and 4.3.2;
Chap 5: Sections 5.1--5.5, and 5.7;
Chap 6 and 7 are NOT to learn for the exam;
Chap 8: Sections 8.1, *.2, 8.3, 8.4.7 (trends in the table given there), and 8.5;
Chap 9: Sections 9.1, 9.2 (No formulas to learn, learn principles), 9.3--9.7;
Chap 10: 10.1--10.6, and 10.8.2;
Chap 11: Only 11.1;
Chap 12: 12.1--12.6 (work out cost calculations involving plans with projections, selections, and nested loop joins as well as sort merge joins);
Chap 13: Sections 13.2, 13.3, and 13.5;
Chap 14: Sections 14.4.1--3;
Chap 15 is NOT to learn;
Chap 16: Sections 16.1--16.4, 16.6--16.7;
Chap 17: Sections 17.1 (no 17.1.1), 17.2 (No latches and convoys), 17.3, 17.4;
Chap 18 is NOT to learn;
Chap 19: Sections 19.1, 19.2, 19.4, and 19.6.
Format of the exam (like like last year):
-- over 20 multiple choice questions and definitions for a total of 40 %, 8 classical questions for a total of 60%
-- Weight: up to 45% things seen before the midterm, and at least 55% for things seen after the midterm.

14/11/04: Assignment #2

11/11/03: HOMEWORK -- In addition to the previous homework I gave you on 22/09/04, and as a good and progressive preparation for the final exam, I strongly recommend you to do the following exercices (some have answers in the student center at http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072465638/):

Chapter 8: 8.1, 8.2, 8.4, 8.5, 8.11
Chapter 9: 9.7 -- 9.14
Chapter 10: 10.1, 10.2, 10.5, 10.10
Chapter 12: 12.4 (1-2)
Chapter 13: 13.1
Chapter 14: 14.4 (3)

05/11/04: I sent a long and important email to everyone about the implementation of the project. Please read it !!
I also have your project deliverable 2. You may pick it up.

04/11/04: Here is the midterm solution: p1, p2, p3, p4, p5.

03/11/04: Midterm marks: All sections
Note: 3 people from the english sections picked their copies before I could record their marks. They should bring them back to me. Pick your copy in the office hour tomorrow. You have 1 week for any remarking request. Hard copies of the solution are in front of my door.

01/11/04: Script for next step in the project. You may change the constraints if necessary.

27/10/04: A1 marks: Section A; Section B. Additional marks: 3150967 : 28; 3962974 : 88.

24/10/04: Reminder -- Mid-term: 25% (Sat 2004-10-30 in TBT 333, 09:30 - 11:30)

24/10/04: Group marks for deliverable 1 of the project (Note: group marks will not be anonymous; for further requests write ONLY to xuli@site.uottawa.ca)

22/10/04: I sent an email to everyone with the link to the A1 solutions.

20/10/04: The ER diagram of deliverable 1 of the project.

18/10/04: Here are important announcements about the midterm:

For the exam, learn: Chap 1; Chap 2: Sections 2.1--2.5; Chap 3: Sections 3.1--3.5, and 3.7; Chap 4: Sections 4.1, 4.2, and 4.3.2 (domain relational calculus ONLY for students that are CSI students); Chap 5: Sections 5.1--5.5, 5.6.4, and 5.7.

Break down of questions: Concepts: 20%; ER diagram: 20%; Rel. model and SQL constraints: 20%; SQL Queries: 20%; Rel. algebra and calculus: 20% (The rel. calc. will be short, and non-CSI student will get only algebra questions).

As a model, follow what we have done in assignment 1.

I will leave hard copies of A1 solutions in front of my office tomorrow Tuesday. Please go and make copies for yourself. They are hand written.

18/10/04:

Because of the University open day, the due date of the project SQL script is postponed to Monday 25, by 6PM.
Here is material about PostgreSQL:
- Tutorial (By Xu Li)
- How to work with PostgreSQL on SITE

14/10/04/: You may find the midterm from last year here, and the solutions are: p1, p2, p3.
There is a second exam that you can find in the announcements of the French section.

11/10/04: Group lists (for further changes write ONLY to xuli@site.uottawa.ca)

04/10/04:

PROJECT (pdf doc)
Group lists (for further changes write to xuli@site.uottawa.ca)

PROJECT (pdf doc)

02/10/04:

Groups as of today. I accepts all the groups so far, except Groups 7, 14, 15, and 21. I will merge 14 and 15, and I will move one person from 7 to 21.
New due date for A#1 is Oct 11, at 6PM; nouvelle date de remise du devoir #1 est 11 oct, a 6H00.

25/09/04:

Group lists so far.
ASSIGNMENT #1(Word doc)

22/09/04: HOMEWORK -- As a good and progressive preparation for the exams, I recommend you (So you're not obliged !) to do the following exercices (some have answers in the student center at http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0072465638/57158/ans3edoddonly.pdf, others don't, and I mix both kinds of exercices.):

Chapter 2: 2.2, 2.3, and 2.7; motivation: to learn how to capture information with different different levels of complexity in ER diagrams, showing the basic and advanced features we have seen in class.
Chapter 3:
- 3.8, and 3.19; motivation: to learn how to write SQL statements about creating tables, modifying their instances, and manipulating views.
- 3.12, 3.13, and 3.17; motivation: to help you to define relations corresponding to the ER diagrams that you got in the conceptual modelling phases in Exercices 2.2, 2.3, and 2.7.
Chapter 4: 4.5; motivation: to learn how to formulate queries in relational algebra and calculus (for the later, use DRC).
Chapter 5: 5.1, 5.8, and 5.10; motivation: to learn how to write SQL statements for creating tables by including appropriate ICs, and learn how to express complex ICs and triggers in SQL.
Moreover, always do the review questions to remember the most important concepts seen in each chapter.

22/09/04: Assignment #1 is delayed a bit to synchronize with the French section.

06/09/03:

The first courses start on Friday September 10.
I will make the lecture notes for each week available at the start of the week. You may still have a preview of the notes from last year's course. However, I will constantly change these old notes to be in phase with current trends. To print the notes with 3 slides or so on a page, go to the appropriate print menu of MS Powerpoint.
I strongly recommend you to buy the course text book. The lectures closely follow that book. Exam questions will assume all the chapters and sections that we will covers in the book.
The course has no lab hours. Therefore the TAs assigned to the course will only mark the assignments.
Practical assignments and the course project will assume the knowldge of PostgreSQL, the most sophisticated open source DBMS available to date. I urge you to consult the appropriate webpages to get used to that system.