COSC 404 Database System Implementation

Spring (Winter Term 2) 2018 - 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 on a wide-variety of database systems (SQL and NoSQL) that is useful to all developers and computer scientists.

On-line Resources

• Syllabus

Student Performance

Of the 57 registered students who started the course, 54 received a C- or above. The average GPA was 3.45..

Comments

The COSC 404 course (course rating: 4.94, instructor rating: 4.96 - highest ratings ever for course) has become much more valuable to non-database researchers. The labs use many different database systems (Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, VoltDB) allowing students to appreciate the differences in architectures and design decisions covered in detail in the lectures as well as gaining experience on many industrial systems. 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

• "We got introduced to a ton of different databases and were able to get practice with them. The labs helped to understand more than a theoretical knowledge."
  


• "The labs, assignments and pretty much all the content are awesome. The instructor continually is the best I’ve ever had at university, I wish he could teach all my classes. Emphasis on actually using the technology is very important and I’m really glad we get to experience those in the labs."
  


• "Ramon Lawrence is by far one of the most interesting professors to listen to. He clearly has a broad understanding of the domain and has a strong passion for the field. The level at which he conducts his lectures is beyond any other professor at this entire university. Well done, Dr. Lawrence, it's been a pleasure."
  


• "Midterm marks were posted only a few hours after the midterms. Ramon likes to keep the atmosphere light and encourages lots of discussion. Listens to feedback and clarifies any misconceptions as things come up. I like that there is a little review of the previous lecture at the start of each lecture as a reminder of what we learned. Lots of examples. He went through a lot of the homework in class to make sure we were understanding the material. New concepts were related to real world databases and current research on topics was discussed."
  


• "Amazing class. I really looked forward to every lecture. Really cool stuff and concepts covered. I never really knew what to expect even halfway through the course but I like the direction it took and the reduced workload near the end. The time in class to start homework assignments helps but the greatest part of the course was simply the lectures. They have got me thinking in ways I have never thought before. Loved it. Best course I have ever taken."
  

Weakness of the Course

• "There was a lot of time spent in class on the homework and examples. We could have spent a bit less time on that."
  


• "Perhaps slightly more class discussion on the labs would be nice, sometimes they feel a little disconnected from the current course content."
  

Most Enjoyable Part of the Course

• "Obviously the candy, but also learning about all the different types of database systems and how to use them and what they can do (similarities and differences between them)."
  


• "I enjoy every one of Dr. Lawrence's classes because he is extremely consistent in his teaching style and continues to retain the attention of every single student present."