Syllabus
Overview
The course syllabus for Databases for Public Policy (CAPP 30235).
Lectures
Lectures are twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday 1:30-2:50 pm in Ryerson 276. Attendance is mandatory and you are expected to arrive on time and participate in class.
Topics Covered
The course will cover the foundations of Database Management Systems (DBMS). This includes data models, database design, SQL, core database system components (e.g. transactions, recovery, query processing), distributed databases, NewSQL/NoSQL, and systems for data analytics (e.g. column-orientated databases, data warehouses).
The goals for this class are for you to have:
- The ability to model and design a database
- An understanding of the core components of a database management system
- The ability to write SQL
- An understanding of the differences between databases and data models
Grading
Grades will be based on the following criteria:
- Class Participation: 10%
- Exams: 40%
- Homework/Projects: 50%
Requirements
- Get Ubuntu 14.04+ running on bare metal or VM VM is preferred. Allocate a few GB of memory if possible. Allocate at least 20 GB of disk space. More if possible.
- Ability to install open source databases (psql and others).
- Install python and have the ability to install python libraries
- Install git. Learn GIT
- Be able to use chisubmit
- Sign up for Piazza. All homeworks will be posted on Piazza
Recommended Textbook
Database System Concepts by Silberschatz, Korth, and Sudarshan. Other paper readings will be assigned.
TA
Suhail Rehman suhail@uchicago.edu is the course TA.
Office Hours
Aaron’s office hours are in Ryerson 167. Tue 3:30-4:30
Suhail’s office hours are in Ryerson 277. Fri 1-2.
Policies
Communication
Please send emails to aelmore@cs.uchicago.edu with [CAPPDB] in the subject heading or use piazza
Plagiarism
Don’t do it. Guidelines if you need them
Issues with Grades
You must wait 24 hours to talk about issues with grading and it must be sent via email.
Cell Phones
Please keep your cell phones on silent/vibrate while in class.
Late Projects and Homeworks
Each day an assignment is late, it is marked down 20%. You have four total slack days to use at your discretion – extensions beyond this will be under extreme circumstances only. Any assignment due after the reading period (last class before final) is not eligible for slack day use.