UUY-DTS 1122 units100 LevelFirst Semester

Introduction to Database Technology

B.Sc. Data Science, University of Uyo

How data is stored, structured and retrieved at scale. Relational modelling, normalisation, and SQL — the single most reusable practical skill in the degree, and the one most often tested in data-science job interviews.

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Course outline

  1. 01File systems vs database systems; why databases exist
  2. 02Database system architecture: the three-schema architecture and data independence
  3. 03Data models: hierarchical, network, relational, object and document models
  4. 04Entity-relationship modelling: entities, attributes, relationships, cardinality, ER diagrams
  5. 05The relational model: relations, tuples, keys (primary, candidate, foreign), integrity constraints
  6. 06Normalisation: functional dependency, 1NF, 2NF, 3NF and BCNF
  7. 07SQL data definition: CREATE, ALTER, DROP, constraints
  8. 08SQL data manipulation: SELECT, WHERE, ORDER BY, GROUP BY, HAVING, JOIN, subqueries, aggregate functions
  9. 09Transactions and the ACID properties; introduction to NoSQL alternatives

Recommended textbooks

  • Database System Concepts — Silberschatz, Korth & Sudarshan

    7th ed. — the standard university text

  • Learning SQL — Alan Beaulieu

    3rd ed. — the fastest route to practical SQL fluency

How to pass UUY-DTS 112

  • Install PostgreSQL or SQLite locally in week one and write real queries — SQL cannot be learnt by reading
  • Normalisation questions are guaranteed in the exam: practise taking an unnormalised table to 3NF and stating the functional dependency that forced each step
  • Master JOINs properly (INNER, LEFT, RIGHT, FULL) — they are the number one SQL interview topic and reappear in DTS 314
  • SQLBolt and pgexercises.com are free, interactive, and better practice than any past question paper

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