| Week | Lecture Topics & Slides | Readings | Dates | Important Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Overview of DBMSs, Course Overview, Administrative Information [lecture1.pdf] | DSC Ch 1 | Tue, May 6 | ||
| Relational Model (1) [lecture2.pdf] | DSC Ch 2 | Thu, May 8 | |||
| 2 | Relational Model (2) [lecture3.pdf] | DSC Ch 2 | Tue, May 13 | Assignment 1 Release | |
| SQL (1) [lecture4.pdf] | DSC Ch 3 | Thu, May 15 | |||
| 3 | SQL (2) [lecture5.pdf] | DSC Ch 3 | Tue, May 20 | ||
| SQL (3) [lecture6.pdf] | DSC Ch 4 | Thu, May 22 | Project Milestone 0 Due | ||
| 4 | SQL (4) [lecture7.pdf] | DSC Ch 4 | Tue, May 27 | ||
| SQL (5) [lecture8.pdf] | DSC Ch 5 | Thu May 29 | |||
| Sun, Jun 1 | Assignment 1 Due | ||||
| 5 | DB Design (1): E/R Model [lecture9.pdf] | DSC Ch 6 | Tue, Jun 3 | Assignemnt 2 Release | |
| DB Design (2): E/R Translation [lecture10.pdf] | DSC Ch 6 | Thu, June 5 | |||
| 6 | DB Design (3): Theory [lecture11.pdf] | DSC Ch 7 | Tue, June 10 | ||
| DB Design (4): Theory [lecture12.pdf] | DSC Ch 7 | Thu, June 12 | |||
| 7 | Midterm Review [midterm-review.pdf] | Tue, Jun 17 | |||
| Physical Data Storage [lecture13.pdf] | DSC Ch 12 - Ch 13 | Thu, June 19 | Project Milestone 1 Due | ||
| 8 | Indexing (1) (Guest) [lecture14.pdf] | DSC Ch 14 | Tue, Jun 24 | Assignment 2 Due | |
| Indexing (2) (Guest) [lecture15.pdf] | DSC Ch 14 | Thu, Jun 26 | Assignment 3 Release | ||
| Midterm Exam Time: 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM Location: M3 1006 and STC 0040 |
Fri, Jun 27 | 9 | No Class | Tue, July 1 | Query Processing & Optimization (1) [lecture16.pdf] | DSC Ch 15 - Ch 16 | Thu, July 3 |
| 10 | Query Processing & Optimization (2) [lecture17.pdf] | DSC Ch 15 - Ch 16 | Tue, July 8 | Project Milestone 2 Due | Query Processing & Optimization (3) [lecture18.pdf] | DSC Ch 15 - Ch 16 | Thu, Jul 10 |
| 11 | Transactions | DSC Ch 17 - Ch 18 | Tue, Jul 15 | Concurrency & Recovery | DSC Ch 18 - Ch 19 | Thu, Jul 17 |
| 12 | Project demos | Mon, Jul 21 - Thu, Jul 24 | Assignment 3 Due on Tue, Jul 22 | ||
| 13 | Final Review | Tue, Jul 29 | Project Report Due | ||
| 14 | Final Exam Time: 4:00 PM - 6:30 PM Location: TBD |
Tue, Aug 5 |
Instructions for Assignments: Your written solutions will be judged not only for correctness but also for the quality of your presentation and explanations. Collaboration Policy: The work you hand in must be your own. Unless specified otherwise, you can always use any result from the textbook, notes, or previous assignment just by citing it. You may discuss the assignment questions verbally with others, but you should come away from these discussions with no written or electronic records and you must acknowledge the discussion. Acknowledge any sources you have used. Any assistance received (from human or nonhuman sources) that is not given proper citation may be considered a violation of the university policies. Late Policy for Assignments: For the first 2 extra days after the deadline, you lose 5% worth of marks for each day. So if you're 1 day late, 5% worth of marks are subtracted from your marks. If you're 2 days late, 10% worth of marks are subtracted from your marks. If you are 3+ days late, you do not get any marks.
Assignment
Date Posted
Due (11:59pm EDT/EST)
Hand In Via
Markers
1 (Lectures 1-7)
Tue, May 13
Thu, May 29
Sun, Jun 1
Crowdmark; Marmoset
TBD
2 (Lectures 4-12)
Tue, Jun 3
Tue, Jun 24
Crowdmark; Marmoset
TBD
3 (Lectures 13-20)
Thu, Jun 26
Tue, Jul 22
Crowdmark
TBD
The group project is optional. You can choose between doing the group project or having higher weighted exams (refer to the Mark Breakdown section below).
Learn will be used to submit the group project. Detailed instructions will be given in week 2.
| Milestone | Due (11:59pm EDT/EST) |
|---|---|
| 0 (Team up) | Thu, May 22 |
| 1 (Proposal) | Thu, Jun 19 |
| 2 (Midterm Report) | Tue, Jul 8 |
| 3 (Demo) | Mon, Jul 21 - Thu, Jul 24 |
| 3 (Final Report & Code) | Tue, Jul 29 |
| Assessment-type Switching Cutoff | Thu, Jun 19 |
You have until June 19 to switch between the exam- or project-based grading schemes. After June 19, the teams in the project-based grading cannot switch to the exam-based assessment. Individuals dropping out of the project-based grading must receive consent from the other team members (cc-ed in an email to the IA, ISC, and the instructor); if the team size reduces to below 4 afterwards, the entire team will be switched to the exam-based grading.
Late Policy for Projects: similar to assignments, for each project milestone, for the first 2 extra days, you lose 25% of your marks for that milestone. So if you're 1 day late, 25% worth of marks are subtracted from your marks. If you're 2 days late, 50% worth of marks are subtracted from your marks. If you are 3+ days late, you do not get any marks for that milestone.
We will use Piazza for all course announcements and as a forum for students to ask and answer questions. So you should enroll yourself at your earliest convenience. During Piazza discussions, please do not reveal the solutions to the assignments by requesting or offering detailed advice. We'll delete comments that reveal too much. Violations can result in academic sanctions.
Similarly, do not solicit hints or provide hints about how to solve the homework problems on other bulletin boards, such as Facebook. Violations can result in academic sanctions.
Piazza is not the place to dispute how assignments are marked. If you have a complaint, please follow the process given below.
| Instructor | Email (@uwaterloo.ca) |
Office Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Xiao Hu | (xiaohu) | Tuesday, 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM (DC 3353) |
| Instructional Apprentices and Teaching Assistants | Email (@uwaterloo.ca) |
|---|---|
| Guy Coccimiglio (IA) | (gccoccim) |
| Nimmi Rashinika Weeraddana (IA) | (nrweerad) |
| Zhengyuan Dong | (z6dong) |
| Lasantha Fernando | (m34ferna) |
| Mayank Jasoria | (mjasoria) |
| Boyi Li | (b352li) |
| Christina Li | (c296li) |
| Amin Rezaei | (a27rezae) |
| Zhiang Wu | (z46wu) |
| Shufan Zhang | (s693zhan) |
| Instructional Support Coordinator | Email (@uwaterloo.ca) |
|---|---|
| Sylvie Davies | (sldavies) |
Two marking schemes, depending on whether you choose to do the group project:
Note: Students are not required to pass the exams in order to pass the course. The only requirement is achieving a sufficient overall cumulative score. However, if a student misses the midterm or final exam without validation, they will automatically fail the course, regardless of their cumulative score. If a student must miss an exam due to illness or another valid and verifiable reason, they should follow Verification of Illness Services and contact Sylvie Davies (CS 348 ISC). In such cases: if the midterm exam is missed, its weight will be automatically transferred to the final exam; if the final exam is missed, the student will need to retake it in a future offering of the course.
Note: If you decide to e-mail the course staff, you must use your uwaterloo Quest e-mail account (WatIAM/Quest userID @uwaterloo.ca); otherwise we cannot verify who you are and are limited on what we can accept and respond to.
| Help Topic | Contact |
|---|---|
| Assignment: Missed Deadline | We do not accept emailed assignments. The last files submitted before the
deadline will be marked (submit early and often, even if
not finished). If the deadline is missed due to illness or other valid, verifiable reason, see Missed Work Due To Illness below. |
| Assignment: Marking Error | Re-mark request, due within one week of release of marks on CrowdMark/Marmoset. Contact the IA and TA who marked the specific question and submit a written request. See TAs for contact information. |
| Assignment: Recording Error | Grades will be made available through Crowdmark. Official marks will finally be on Learn. If you notice an error in the recorded value, please contact Sylvie Davies (CS 348 ISC). |
| Enrollment | If Quest won't let you enroll or switch LEC or TUT sections without a permission/override number: Instructors and course staff are unable to help you — you must see a CS academic advisor. |
| General Course Help | Check office hours. |
| Missed Work due to Illness or Valid & Verifiable Reason (Assignments, Exams) | Validation required. See Verification of Illness Services but contact Sylvie Davies (CS 348 ISC) for references instead of the instructor. |
| Accessibility Services (AAS) exam accommodation forms (request to write at AAS) | Submit to AAS at least 3 weeks before exam |
Mental Health: If you or anyone you know experiences any academic stress, difficult life events, or feelings like anxiety or depression, we strongly encourage you to seek support.
On-campus Resources
Off-campus Resources
Diversity: It is our intent that students from all diverse backgrounds and perspectives be well served by this course, and that students’ learning needs be addressed both in and out of class. We recognize the immense value of the diversity in identities, perspectives, and contributions that students bring, and the benefit it has on our educational environment. Your suggestions are encouraged and appreciated. Please let us know ways to improve the effectiveness of the course for you personally or for other students or student groups. In particular:
MOSS (Measure of Software Similarities) is used in this course as a means of comparing students' assignments to ensure academic integrity. We will report suspicious activity, and penalties for plagiarism/cheating are severe. Please read the available information about academic integrity very carefully.
Discipline cases involving any automated marking system such as Marmoset include, but are not limited to, printing or returning values in order to match expected test results rather than making an actual reasonable attempt to solve the problem as required in the assignment question specification.