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Lecture: MWF, 2:30-3:20pm; note new room: Olin 155
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Instructor: Johannes Gehrke
o
Office
hours: Fridays, 1:15pm to 2:15pm in Upson 4105B or by appointment.
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TAs: Ki
Suh Lee, Lu Wang, and Petko Nikilov.
You can reach the TAs by sending email to cs4320-ta-l “at” lists
“dot” cs “dot” cornell “dot” edu
o
Office
hours: Tuesdays, 11:30am-12:30pm and Wednesdays, 11am-noon in Upson 328B.
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Course Management System. The homework assignments,
grades, course schedule, and lecture notes are available via CMS.
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Textbook: Raghu Ramakrishnan and
Johannes Gehrke. Database Management
Systems. Third edition, 2002.
Course
Description
CS4320 gives an
introduction to relational database systems. Topics covered include the
relational model, SQL, transactions, database design, and concepts and
algorithms for building database management systems. Students are encouraged to
concurrently enroll in CS4321 (Practicum in Database Systems) as well. The textbook is required,
but the contents of the book do not constitute the syllabus for the course -
the classroom lectures define the course content, and the textbook is a
reference.
Prerequisites
CS4320 will assume knowledge
of material covered in CS2110 (Computers and Programming) and CS3121 (Structure
and Interpretation of Computer Programs).
Grading
The grades for CS4320 will be
determined based on five homework assignments (50%) and two exams (50%).
Five
Homework assignments
(50% of your grade, 10% each). Details about the homework assignments can be
found in CMS.
Exams
(50% of your grade)
Late submissions
policy
All homework
assignments have to be submitted via CMS in electronic format. You may submit
scanned PDF files of your homework assignments, but there is a limit on upload
size and it is your responsibility to make sure in time that the upload of
scanned files succeeds. If there is a problem, submitting via email or on
paper is not an option. We suggest
composing the homework assignments using a text editor or latex and creating a
PDF file for submission.
The assignments
have strict deadlines that are at 11:59pm on the day indicated in the deadline.
If you submit the assignment up to 24 hours late, there will be a 15% penalty.
If you submit your assignment between 24 and 48 hours late, there will be a 30%
penalty. This may sound strict, but we want to be fair and have the same rules
for everyone. We will try to provide the best help possible to make you succeed
with the assignments, but you will have to grant sufficient time to finish your
homework assignments and submit them before the deadline.
Job interviews
Many students who
take CS4320/1 also have job interviews in the fall. Please make sure not to schedule
any interviews such that you cannot attend the exams. We cannot move exams
because of interviews and we also cannot provide makeup exam. Makeup exams can
only be scheduled for serious medical reasons, not because of job
interviews. We know that some companies behave inflexibly regarding
interview dates (notably, Microsoft), but in this case you will have to state
firmly that it is a Cornell rule that exams have priority (which is true). It
is important not to tell recruiters that there is a possibility of moving the
exam, because it is not true and they will take your word on it. Please keep in
mind that traveling takes time: you should not schedule interviews a day before
or after an exam, particularly if the interview is on the West Coast.