COSC 404 Database System Implementation

Spring (Winter Term 2) 2016 - University of British Columbia Okanagan

Overview

COSC 404 provides an overview of how database systems are built including topics such as query processing, transactions, concurrency, and reliability. Although the course provides foundational material for students that will engage in database research, it is also designed to provide practical knowledge and programming experience that relates to other areas such as operating systems and networks and allows all computer scientists to improve their skills in data management.

On-line Resources

• Syllabus

Student Performance

Of the 50 registered students who started the course, 45 received a C- or above. The average GPA was 2.97.

Comments

The COSC 404 course was successful this semester (course rating: 4.6, instructor rating: 4.8). The labs were substantially improved and expanded the previous offering and fine-tuned this time. Weekly homework assignments were updated but will be further changed next offering. Clickers were used for the second time in the course with very good success. A bonus mark for showing the TA an answer in the lab was introduced and was very successful. This will be used wherever possible in future courses. COSC 404 is by far the hardest course I teach with difficulty similar to Stanford/MIT and more demanding than UBC Vancouver.

Strengths of the Course

• "The strength of the course was the clicker questions. Although it is a small thing the clicker questions were very good at encouraging examination of the material farther than what I thought of during lecture, it was a quick way to ensure I was on the right track and encouraged discussion with my peers I would not have otherwise had."
  


• "The amount of clickers and the encouraged discussion when answering them was very helpful and one of my favorite things about this class. The bonus mark for showing the TA the lab in lab was also really nice. I also appreciated the fact that it was understood that students are very busy and giving us time in class to work on the homework assignments and giving us time to ask questions about the homework/labs was extremely useful and helpful. VERY quick marking for tests."
  


• "I learned a tremendous amount of material. The programming labs, while very difficult and time consuming, pushed me and forced me to take my coding abilities [and] reading of the documentation to a new level. The instructor made the difficult content and large workload seem doable through all his help and encouragement."
  

Weakness of the Course

• "While it is not necessarily a weakness, there was a tremendous amount of work to do and I spent far more time on this course than any other I have taken. Sometimes a little additional clarification beyond the assignment description on the labs was necessary."
  


• "The course is by far the most challenging course I've ever had. It's both a strength and a weakness!"
  

Most Enjoyable Part of the Course

• "It gave a new perception on the modern world [and] its infrastructure; I had no idea how vastly complicated and how much thought goes in to something like e-commerce. It also helped me wrap my a head [around] big data and its inherent challenges."
  


• "I really appreciated the structure of the work load. It was so nice to have more focus on the first part of the course as I struggled with it most so the extra practice was fantastic, and I was very relieved to have a slightly lighter workload at the end of the semester in contrast to the rest of my classes."