Module Identifier | CS10610 | |||||||||||||||||
Module Title | DATABASES | |||||||||||||||||
Academic Year | 2004/2005 | |||||||||||||||||
Co-ordinator | Dr Joanne H Walker | |||||||||||||||||
Semester | Semester 1 | |||||||||||||||||
Other staff | Dr Joanne H Walker | |||||||||||||||||
Co-Requisite | Successful completion of an approved course on simple computer use and local facilities. | |||||||||||||||||
Mutually Exclusive | Not available to students who have database experience at A level or equivalent. | |||||||||||||||||
Course delivery | Lecture | 22 lectures | ||||||||||||||||
Practical | 10 x 2 hours | |||||||||||||||||
Other | Workshop. up to 11 x 1 hour | |||||||||||||||||
Assessment |
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Further details | http://www.aber.ac.uk/compsci/ModuleInfo/CS10610 |
The philosophy of the course will be to provide students with a tool and with techniques that they can use elsewhere in their studies. The practicals will be based on the microcomputer package Microsoft Access, and will develop problem solving and database design and implementation skills.
2. Tables and forms - 4 Lectures, 2 Practicals
The views of a table; field data types, properties; validation; primary keys and indexes; Access form wizards; varieties of form available; the views of a form; controls; tab order; visual design; forms for data entry.
3. Interrogating a Database - 3 Lectures, 2 Practicals
Simple search; wildcards; filters and select queries; crosstab, parameter, groups and totals queries. Elementary SQL for queries.
4. Reports - 1 Lecture, 1 Practical
Access report wizards; varieties of report; the views of a report; controls.
5. Multi-table databases - 4 Lectures, 3 Practicals
Entity-relationship modelling: entities, attributes, relationships, many-to-many relationships. Primary and foreign keys. Derivation of a set of tables from a model.
6. Normalisation - 4 Lectures
Data redundancy, inconsistencies, modification anomalies. Relational integrity. Functional dependencies. 1st, 2nd,3rd Normal Forms. Implementation in Microsoft Access. Improving and modifying a database.
7. Other Database Management System Facilities - 2 Lectures
Security issues; introduction to transaction processing.
8. Debriefing - 2 Lectures
Some lecture time each week will be devoted to a debriefing on the previous practical. Two of the practical sessions will be allocated to work on the assignments, but students should expect to have to spend further time on their assignments.
This module is at CQFW Level 4