The final exam is tomorrow!
Before the exam:
During the exam:
When marking, we create a new database from scratch, load the code for the question, and then run the tests. In the exam, the check script loads the code for the question into the existing database. Not quite the same. So, don't try to hard code the answer to just pass the checking script.
Good Luck.
Hi Class,
The database to be used in the final exam is now available.
Download and explore to save time in the exam.
As said in the title.
You will have access to all the documents listed in the screenshot here:
https://edstem.org/au/courses/15447/discussion/1934487
HI Class,
I've added the 23T3 final exam for your reference: https://webcms3.cse.unsw.edu.au/COMP3311/24T1/resources/98128
Note that the dump file for the database is compressed in the sample solutions tar file.
Also, there are some
official
cheat sheets last term (https://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~cs3311/24T1/exams/23T3/paper/documents.html), which may help you to prepare your own one this term.
Hi Class,
I'm coming back to Sydney this weekend.
I'll host open office hours next week to answer your questions.
You can find me @
K17 Lv5 508 Consultation Room
on:
15:00-17:00 2nd May Thursday.
10:00-12:00 3rd May Friday.
Hi Class,
Here are some of the previous exam papers for your reference:
https://webcms3.cse.unsw.edu.au/COMP3311/24T1/resources/97973
Please note that you are allowed to bring one A4 page of cheatsheet to the exam this term. Make good use of it.
In the final exam:
You will be given:
In addition, you are allowed to bring:
You will NOT be allowed to use any AI assistants.
The rationale is:
Most exam questions do not require memorization of a large chunk of knowledge/text. Don't waste your time looking for information in the excessive materials unless you really need to do so.
You are the one who knows the best about yourself. You should know whichever part of the course is hard or requires additional notes for yourself. Different people may have different "hard" parts. So
prepare your own unique cheatsheet
that fits the best for you!
Hi class, I added more examples for you to practice the calculation of normal forms and serializability:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/11Bg7WHAGGPCPAhav55GlKG-DMcTRV-Tum7YpyUDZInM/edit?usp=sharing
The examples are organized in this way:
Example-1: Practice BCNF and 3NF - Both will yield the same result after normalisation.
Example-2: Practice BCNF and 3NF - They will have different results after normalisation.
Example-3: Practice conflict serializability and view serializability - The example is not serializable for both standards to complement the examples in the original lecture notes.
Again, please don't just recite the algorithms. Comprehend them instead!
Hi Class,
I prepared a summary of the entire course, which could help you to review the key knowledge points.
Here are the slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1I0AIMxcTm3DTatHVJq8qC5KpxlfaaihHFgXe83wU4VQ/edit?usp=sharingand
Here's a recording: https://youtu.be/obPJ3pZBi_A
Hi class,
The last question for assignment 2 is released. Note that there are some minor issues in the current specification (like the ddl). We will fix them. The due date is
Monday 22nd April 2024 21:59:59
as noticed yesterday.
I created a set of slides here: https://webcms3.cse.unsw.edu.au/COMP3311/24T1/resources/97668
These are some extra exercises for the algorithms we learnt for the theoretical topics (including BCNF, 3NF, serializability checking algorithms - to be learnt today). Currently it has only one exercise. I'll add more exercises later.
The slides are animated to show you how to work out the solution step-by-step. So you can play the slideshow if needed.
Don't get scared by the math symbols and seemingly complex logic of the algorithms. They are actually quite simple. Don't recite the algorithms. Comprehend them instead.
I'll be travelling for a conference next week. So there's no lecture on next Monday. Instead, I will prepare a video and a set of slides for summarising the entire course. Make sure you watch this video, as it could be very helpful for your final exam.
We will have a guest lecture on next Thursday.
Here are the details about the guest lecture:
Title : RDBMS Implementations Fitting Different Workloads
Speaker : Dr. Yi Jin
Bio : Dr. Yi Jin is currently the director of Enmotech Data AU, working on the development of the next generation of high-performance commercial database systems. He also holds the position of an adjunct lecturer at UNSW. Dr. Jin obtained his Ph.D. in computer software and theory in 2009 and has worked in the database industry for 15 years since then. His journey commenced at IBM, where he contributed to the IBM DB2 database. He has also played pivotal roles in various successful startups, serving as CTO, co-founder, and chief architect. Notably, he is the top contributor to the open-source Apache HAWQ project.
Please come to attend the guest lecture if you are interested in the design/mechanisms of DBMS. This is also a good opportunity if you are looking for internships or jobs in relevant fields.
Dear class,
The specification for one more question is released. We will cut the scope and give you 4 questions in total . We will extend the due date to Monday of Week 11 (22nd April) 10:00pm as well.
The specifications and example outputs for Q1 & Q2 for assignment 2 are released: https://webcms3.cse.unsw.edu.au/COMP3311/24T1/resources/96689
For special considerations and ELP students, please submit your requests as early as possible.
Quiz 5 is due by tonight. Just do it!
Provisional Performance Marks for Assignment 1 are now available for you to view.
These marks have not been reviewed by a tutor yet and style marking has not been done yet.
You can view your Provisional Performance Marks by running the following command on a CSE server:
$ 3311 classrun -collect ass1
Or by using the
Collect Su
bmission
tab in WebCMS.
Quiz 4
: The due date is today ... I forgot yesterday was a public holiday. You still have time to
do it
, please finish it.
Assignment 2
: The
db setup guide
has been released. Please set up the db on your vxdb2 server asap. We plan to set the due date to Wednesday Week 10 (17th April), but we may extend the due date if we can't consolidate all questions by next Wednesday. You will be given 2 weeks anyway.
No Lecture next Monday
: Next Monday (1st April) is Easter Monday. We'll have no lecture that day. Please refer to
the time table
. This is NOT AN APRIL FOOL'S JOKE🤡.
Stay strong💪 and enjoy your holiday!
ps: Why send notices on Saturday? The good thing about working as academics is that every day is like a public holiday. The bad thing is that you work on public holidays.
Hi class, the due date for quiz 4 is tomorrow. Please don't forget to do it! The content is mainly covered by the second lecture on week 5 .
Hi Class,
The specification for question 10 has been released. And you have ~7 days left to finish your assignment. Please start doing the assignment if you haven't.
For Equitable Learning Plan (ELP) students, please submit your requests for extensions by emailing us (cs3311@cse.unsw.edu.au) 24 hours before the due time (10:00 pm 21st Mar).
Dear Class,
The
specifications
(except for the pl/pgsql function-related questions) are available here:
https://webcms3.cse.unsw.edu.au/COMP3311/24T1/resources/96690
We will cover the knowledge of pl/pgsql functions in our lecture tomorrow.
Please go through the specifications and you can start working on the questions.
By the way, we are starting help sessions this week (week 4), and here is the timetable: https://webcms3.cse.unsw.edu.au/COMP3311/24T1/resources/96822
Please come to the help session if you have encountered any problem.
Hi class, very sorry about the delay. We encountered some technical issues when setting up the systems 😢.
We will release the specifications by this Wednesday (6th Mar) or perhaps earlier and extend the DDL to 10:00 pm on 22nd Mar (Friday of week 6).
Please stay updated and we will send out notices here and on Ed Forum later on!
The database schema and dump files for the IMDB database are now available on WebCMS
here:
https://webcms3.cse.unsw.edu.au/COMP3311/24T1/reso...
The assignment questions will be released in the next day or two.
We strongly advise that you read the schema and play with the data to get an understanding for the database before the questions are released.
Only 46% of the course has completed Quiz 2 at the moment.
Remember that Quiz 2 is due Tomorrow at 11:59pm
If you have yet to complete Quiz 2 you should do so very soon.
Dear class, I've uploaded all existing lecture recordings to YouTube (I will upload future recordings as well). YouTube has a better video player, auto-generated captions, and better stability when the network is slow. Please find the playlist here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLneo1-0n40Q_Pm_04jmOFo6LhlDTvGM63
All CSE systems are now back online and running normally.
WebCMS, The Course Website, SSH, VLAB, etc. all
Can once again be used as normal.
Only 65% of the course has completed Quiz 1 at the moment.
Remember that Quiz 1 is due Tomorrow at 11:59pm,
but you will be unable to complete the quiz between 8pm today and 8pm tomorrow.
UNSW has scheduled a power outage starting at 8pm this Friday (23rd of February) until 8pm this Saturday (24th of February) to allow for construction work in the CSE building.
This power outage will take down CSE servers and network infrastructure.
Access to VLAB, SSH, WebCMS, Course Website, etc, will be unavailable during this period.
The Course ED forum, Moodle, myUNSW, etc, will still be available during this period.
The first Quiz had a due date of 11:59 on Friday, but 4 hours of this time will be lost due to the power outage.
The first Quiz now had a date of 11:59 on Saturday, to make up for this lost time.
But we would highly recommend that you complete the Quiz before 8pm on Friday.
Dear class,
I found that the cardinality and participation of relationships are causing some confusions. So, I created a set of extra slides to explain this in detail: https://webcms3.cse.unsw.edu.au/COMP3311/24T1/resources/96491 If you are not interested in alternative notations (crow's foot, chen), please just skip the first few slides and go through the examples staring from slide 17. I'll cover the example in our next lecture step-by-step as well. Please do go through these examples as they are helpful for your quiz-1.
Hi class, the recording of the second lecture this week on Echo 360 was messed up because you can hear the voice of another lecturer in the recording .
This is because there's another lecture theater above Keith Burrows (ours) and somehow the mic of that LT was configured to be on the same channel as ours. ╰(ɵ̥̥ ˑ̫ ɵ̥̥ ╰)
We have reported this issue to the Uni and hopefully, they can fix it soon.
As many of you are attending this class online, I made a makeup recording:
https://youtu.be/T9TZnSZFaoc
Please make sure you have watched this recording/attended lecture 2 before going to tutorial 1 next week.
The new season the databases adventure kicks off on Monday (Feb 12) at 4pm in K-J14-G5 - Keith Burrows Theatre. I look forward to to seeing the theatre full, and will be offering snacks to the best questions from the audience.