22925 Advanced Topics in Database Systems
Credits: 4 graduate credits in Computer Science
Prerequisite: Admission to the graduate program in Computer Science 1
Required: Database Systems, Database Systems Implementation
Recommended: Principles of Operating Systems
The course is based on Database Management Systems (3rd ed.), by R. Ramakrishnan and J. Gehrke (McGraw Hill, 2003), and on a reader edited by Ehud Gudes.
Database management systems (DBMS) have become vital systems in all organizations in which information constitutes a critical resource (banks, hospitals, universities). Whereas in the introductory course, Database Systems (20277), students study the topic from the user’s point of view, and in Database Systems Implementation (20574), they are exposed to the implementation point of view of centralized “classic” DBMSs, the aim of the current course is to examine theoretical topics and to expose students to issues at the center of technological developments in the field, such as de-centralized databases, smart databases and databases on the Web.
For example, technological developments in both hardware and software have had a significant impact on DBMSs. Database management systems must contend with the complex demands and severe problems posed by the use of networks and the Internet. Therefore, the implementation of distributed DBMSs and the algorithms required for their implementation are the central topic of the course.
The course places an emphasis on research and therefore students are required to read a relatively large number of articles in addition to the textbook. This is the basic course for graduate students interested in specializing in the area of databases.
Topics: Parallel and distributed databases; Theoretical foundations of queries and deductive databases; Data warehousing and data mining; New database models and databases for the Web, including Object-oriented and XML databases.
1Students who have not fulfilled this requirement may, under certain circumstances, enroll in this course.