[Announcements] [Labs] [Description] [Textbook] [Grading] [Schedule]

Announcements

• Please create an account at www.gradiance.com/services, and enroll in CS320 using the class token that I sent to you by email. The first two homeworks have been assigned.
• The link for downloading JDBC driver for PostgreSQL is:http://jdbc.postgresql.org/download/postgresql-8.1-405.jdbc3.jar
• The Annual ACM Programming Contest is coming up! If you are interested, please contact me!
• Course website: http://www.cs.lafayette.edu/~gexia/cs320/, supplemental materials will be posted on the class Moodle site.
  
  

Project Assignments

• Project assignments
  

Course Description

Course Goals: At the end of the semester you should:

• be able to apply knowledge of computing and mathematics appropriate to the discipline; in particular,
  • be able to apply the fundamental database design principles in the design and analysis of database management systems,
  • be able to use Structured Query Language (SQL) for the implementation and manipulation of database management systems.
• be able to design, implement, and evaluate a computer-based database system to meet desired needs.
• be able to function effectively on teams to accomplish a common goal.
  
  

Textbook

• "Database Systems: the Complete Book, 2nd ed." by Hector Garcia-Molina, Jeffrey D. Ullman and Jennifer, D. Widom.

We will use an online learning system developed by an author of the textbook Gradiance.com. The Gradiance system allows students to make multiple attempts in solving problems. If an answer was wrong, the system would explain why the answer was wrong and provide hints on how to solve the problem. The student guide for using the Gradiance service can be found here.

Grading Policy

The course grade is distributed as follows:

• Project assignments -- 30%
• Homework assignments -- 10%
• Midterm exams (2)-- 40%
• Final exam -- 20%

• A: 93% or more
• A-: 90 - 93%
• B+: 87 - 89%
• B: 83 - 86%
• B-: 80 - 82%
• C+: 77 - 79%
• C: 73 - 76%
• C-: 70 - 72%
• D+: 67 - 69%
• D: 63 - 66%
• D-: 60 - 62%
• F: less than 60%

Academic Honesty

The Student Handbook of Lafayette College has a section on Principles of Intellectual Honesty that defines academic dishonesty to include:

• Use of other persons' writings without proper acknowledgment,
• Use of reference material without properly crediting sources used,
• Use of other students' work, with or without revision,
• Collaboration beyond the limits established by the instructor,
• Submission of the same work in more than one course

Attendance

Tentative Schedule

Changes will be made according to the progress of the course.