COMP9311 Notices

Final Exam Paper

Posted by Helen Paik Wednesday 19 August 2020, 02:45:07 PM.

Hello class ... follow the link below to access the final exam paper.

Final Exam Paper (this will open in a new tab in your browser)

I will also be online ... If you have a question, come to the BlackBoard meeting room. Any announcement about the exam, during the exam will be made via the WebCMS3 noticeboard here. It's your responsibility to monitor this page.

Final exam - announcement

Posted by Helen Paik Wednesday 19 August 2020, 01:01:04 AM.

The exam paper will be released at 2.45pm via WebCMS3 noticeboard. You have 15 mins reading time (notionally), the exam starts from 3pm and finishes at 6pm.

The submission will open (via WebCMS3 and also the GIVE command) from 3pm and will close at 6pm.

You may refer to materials available on the course Web site (lecture notes, labs, exercises etc.) and the PostgreSQL documentation. You can use own summary notes to use during the exam.

I have changed my mind about putting a drawing question in the exam - There is no drawing question.

During the exam, I will be available in Blackboard Collaborate for students who want to ask questions. Any announcement about the exam during the exam will be posted on the course noticeboard. It is your responsibility to monitor the message during the exam.

Good luck.

Week 11 and onwards - consultation times

Posted by Helen Paik Sunday 09 August 2020, 05:40:42 PM, last modified Monday 10 August 2020, 12:40:25 PM.

Hello Class ... instead of doing one long session Monday (10th August) tomorrow, I will spread consultation hours throughout this week and next week till the exam time to hopefully give you more options.

So here is the consultation time schedule for Week 11 and onwards (till the exam). All in AEST time and the meetings are via BB Collaborate ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session).

• 10th August Monday 5pm-6pm (1 hour)
• 11th August Tuesday 12-1pm (1 hour)
• 13th August Thursday 5pm-6pm (1 hour)
• 18th August Tuesday 12pm-1pm (1 hour)
• 18th August Tuesday 5pm-6pm (1 hour)

The exam is 19th August, starts from 3pm. The exam paper will be released on 2:45pm via WebCMS3 in the same fashion as the mockup exam.

Mockup exam - DB file update

Posted by Helen Paik Friday 07 August 2020, 04:10:13 PM, last modified Friday 07 August 2020, 05:50:52 PM.

Hello class ... The DB dump file was created with my role - which did not allow you to import. I updated the DB dump file ... so try to get a new copy from the same link :-)

PS: I thought I'd clarify one thing about these mockups ... The total number of questions will be different in final exam and the level of difficulties will be different. The format is definitely indicative of the final exam, but not the number of questions or the level of difficulties.

Mockup Exam 4pm start ...

Posted by Helen Paik Friday 07 August 2020, 02:35:20 AM, last modified Friday 07 August 2020, 03:43:12 PM.

Hello class ... on Friday 7th August, at 3:45pm, the following link will become available:

Mockup Exam Paper (this will open in a new tab in your browser)

I will also be online ... If you have a question, come to the BlackBoard meeting room - 'Mockup Exam Question'. The submission system will be open till 7pm, but I will only be available to answer your questions till 6pm. You can post questions on the forum after that.

NOTE:

• The main purpose of the mockup exam is to make sure that your computing environment is setup correctly and you can find your way around your working environment with the CSE system. If you find any issue, you should contact me to resolve it before the exam.
• The mockup questions are from the labs/lecture exercises. We are not going to mark your submission. The answers have already been provided.
• The exam paper will remain available till the actual final exam day. But the submission system will close after 7pm today.

myExperience for COMP9311

Posted by Helen Paik Thursday 06 August 2020, 03:14:14 PM.

Hello class, don't forget to fill out the myExperience survey for COMP9311. Many thanks in advance for your participation in this.

Week 10 Activity Summary

Posted by Helen Paik Monday 03 August 2020, 09:50:56 AM.

The last week of the term!

This week's activity summary as follows (all in AEST).

4th August Tuesday 12-1pm: I will have a consultation hour on BB Collaborate ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Helen Consultation Hour).

5th August Wednesday 10am:

• The last lecture recording week will be released in Echo360. This week's topic is Non-relational databases. It is a short topic and there will be a closing/summary lecture. The lecture notes will be published in WebCMS3.
• No new lab. Catch up on the previous labs with the tutors.

7th August Friday 4pm-5.30pm: A mockup exam - we will run a mockup exam session simulating the same environment that you will be using for the final exam. Attending this session is not mandatory, but obviously, it will be beneficial for you if you want to be prepared for the final exam. Details will follow.

7th August Friday 6pm: Week 10 quiz (the last one) is released. The due date is the following Monday 10am.

Weekly Online Help Sessions (with Tutors) - these are last sessions.

• Wednesday 12-1pm: Online help session on BB Collaborate with Anchit/Rahma ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Wed 12-1pm). If you have any question or need help with the lab, you can join this session.
• Thursday 12-1pm: Online help session on BB Collaborate with Rahma/Yashothara ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Thursday 12-1pm Lab). If you have any question or need help with the lab, you can join this session.
• Friday 2-3pm: Online help session on BB Collaborate with Anchit/Yashothara ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Friday 2-3pm Lab). If you have any question or need help with the lab, you can join this session.

Drop me a line on this course forum if you have any question. Or come and see me tomorrow for consultation.

Important notice: cancelling 4pm problem solving session today

Posted by Helen Paik Friday 31 July 2020, 08:36:22 AM.

Hello class ... My apologies, but I have to cancel today's scheduled problem solving session. I will open a make-up one for Week 11 Monday same time (4pm).

Send me email, or post questions on the forum.

Week 9 Activity Summary

Posted by Helen Paik Monday 27 July 2020, 11:33:10 AM, last modified Friday 31 July 2020, 02:50:03 PM.

This week's activity summary as follows (all in AEST).

28th July Tuesday 12-1pm: I will have a consultation hour on BB Collaborate ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Helen Consultation Hour).

29th July Wednesday 10am:

• Lecture recordings for the week will be released in Echo360. This week's topic is Transactions and Concurrency. Textbook chapters 20 and 21. The lecture notes will be published in WebCMS3.
• New lab exercise on SQLite. This is a "tiny" database that is quite useful to learn as you can use it in any small-size personal project where you want a little bit of SQL and tables.

31st July Friday 4pm-5.30pm: A problem solving session - the topic is transactions and concurrency ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Week 9 Problem Solving Session). There will be a makeup one scheduled in Week 11 Monday 4pm.

31st July Friday 6pm: Week 9 quiz is released. The due date is the following Monday 10am.

2nd August Sunday 11:59pm - assignment 2 due

Weekly Online Help Sessions (with Tutors)

• Wednesday 12-1pm: Online help session on BB Collaborate with Anchit/Rahma ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Wed 12-1pm). If you have any question or need help with the lab, you can join this session.
• Thursday 12-1pm: Online help session on BB Collaborate with Rahma/Yashothara ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Thursday 12-1pm Lab). If you have any question or need help with the lab, you can join this session.
• Friday 2-3pm: Online help session on BB Collaborate with Anchit/Yashothara ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Friday 2-3pm Lab). If you have any question or need help with the lab, you can join this session.

Drop me a line on this course forum if you have any question. Or come and see me tomorrow for consultation.

Week 8 Activity Summary

Posted by Helen Paik Monday 20 July 2020, 10:11:28 AM.

This week's activity summary as follows (all in AEST).

21st July Tuesday 12-1pm: I will have a consultation hour on BB Collaborate ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Helen Consultation Hour).

22nd July Wednesday 10am:

• Lecture recordings for the week will be released in Echo360. This week's topic is Storage, Index and Query Processing. Textbook chapters 16, 17, 18 and 19. The lecture notes will be published in WebCMS3.
• No new labs ... Keep working on your assignments and catchup with past lab/exercises.

24th July Friday 4pm-6pm: Instead of having a problem solving session, I will have an extended consultation session like last time. Come along if you have any question on anything about the course. ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Week 8 Extended Consultation).

24th July Friday 6pm: Week 8 quiz is released. The due date is the following Monday 10am.

Weekly Online Help Sessions (with Tutors)

• Wednesday 12-1pm: Online help session on BB Collaborate with Anchit/Rahma ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Wed 12-1pm). If you have any question or need help with the lab, you can join this session.
• Thursday 12-1pm: Online help session on BB Collaborate with Rahma/Yashothara ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Thursday 12-1pm Lab). If you have any question or need help with the lab, you can join this session.
• Friday 2-3pm: Online help session on BB Collaborate with Anchit/Yashothara ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Friday 2-3pm Lab). If you have any question or need help with the lab, you can join this session.

Drop me a line on this course forum if you have any question. Or come and see me tomorrow for consultation.

Q8 in the assignment 2 (the dates)

Posted by Helen Paik Saturday 18 July 2020, 09:39:18 PM.

The wording of the starting/ending and effective starting/ending dates in the examples were a bit confusing (T1 and T2 are meant to refer to two different points in time, not Term1 and Term2) ... but anyway, I have fixed the examples to make it clearer. You can reload the page and see the changes in red.

Assignment Marks (release plan)

Posted by Helen Paik Wednesday 15 July 2020, 11:26:37 AM.

Hello Class,

we are currently marking Assignment 1 Stage 2, once that is done, we will release the marks for stage 1 and stage 2 together. We expect this to be around late Week 8 or early Week 9. The assignment 2 marking results will be released around late Week 11.

I am telling you this now so that (i) you know our plan, (ii) all assignment marking enquiries can be directed in those times when we can actually set aside some resources to respond to them.

In any case, before the final exam day, you will have all your quiz and assignment marks sorted.

Let's keep pushing on. We are almost there :-)

Week 7 Activity Summary

Posted by Helen Paik Monday 13 July 2020, 10:15:09 AM.

Hope you all had a good catchup week. This week's activity summary as follows (all in AEST).

14th July Tuesday 12-1pm: I will have a consultation hour on BB Collaborate ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Helen Consultation Hour). If you have any questions, just drop in. I will be there.

15th July Wednesday 10am:

• Lecture recordings for the week will be released in Echo360. This week's topic is Relational Design Theory. Textbook chapters 14 and 15. The lecture notes will be published in WebCMS3.
• NOTE: along with the lecture materials, I will release some exercise questions (with answers). You should try these exercises - we will through this in the live problem solving session on Friday.
• Lab05 on PLpgSQL functions and triggers will be released. I will release the solution together. Please ask for help from the tutors if you have any problems with running/doing the labs.

17th July Friday 4pm-5.30pm: Live problem/example solving session with Helen ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Week 7 Problem Solving Together). This week is on Relational Design Theory. See the note above about Wednesday releases.

17th July Friday 6pm: Week 7 quiz is released. The due date is the following Monday 10am.

Weekly Online Help Sessions (with Tutors)

• Wednesday 12-1pm: Online help session on BB Collaborate with Anchit/Rahma ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Wed 12-1pm). If you have any question or need help with the lab, you can join this session.
• Thursday 12-1pm: Online help session on BB Collaborate with Rahma/Yashothara ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Thursday 12-1pm Lab). If you have any question or need help with the lab, you can join this session.
• Friday 2-3pm: Online help session on BB Collaborate with Anchit/Yashothara ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Friday 2-3pm Lab). If you have any question or need help with the lab, you can join this session.

Drop me a line on this course forum if you have any question. Or come and see me tomorrow for consultation.

Week 6 Activity Summary

Posted by Helen Paik Monday 06 July 2020, 10:27:10 AM.

This is QUIET WEEK. Hooray! No activity this week.

I will still have my consultation tomorrow (Tuesday 12-1pm).

I will also re-open all the quizzes so far (Week 5) so that you can review the questions. Of course, any submission is ignored after this. If you have any questions on the quizzes, use the forum.

Assignment 2 Released ... Reminder Quiz 5 Due this Sunday

Posted by Helen Paik Saturday 04 July 2020, 10:19:49 AM.

Hello class, congratulations on completing the first assignment. We will get back to you with the mark/feedback as soon as we can. In the meantime, you can read/plan through Assignment 2. You can find it under Assignments. Note that the second assignment is individual task, no group work involved.

Due to Week 6 being the Quiet Week for the term, the due date for Week 5 quiz has been brought forward to this Sunday 11pm.

Reminder for Week 5 Tasks

Posted by Helen Paik Thursday 02 July 2020, 10:58:25 PM.

Hello everyone, before I forget, let me send this out ... The Assignment 1 (final stage) submission is due Friday 3rd 6pm. The submission is through WebCMS3 - follow the assignment spec page.

Friday 4pm - 5.30pm. There is no problem solving session this week, instead, I will have an extended consultation session. You can ask any question on the topics so far. Meet me via BB Collaborate as usual.

Friday 6pm - the quiz will be released (on Week 5 topics). The quiz is due Sunday 5th July 11pm, because we cannot have anything due on the Quiet Week (Week 6).

Week 5 Activity Summary

Posted by Helen Paik Monday 29 June 2020, 02:25:03 PM, last modified Wednesday 01 July 2020, 11:54:00 AM.

Here is the summary of this week's activities for you (all in AEST)

IMPORTANT: 3rd July Friday 6pm - Assignment 1 Stage 2 submission due.

30th June Tuesday 12-1pm: I will have a consultation hour on BB Collaborate ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Helen Consultation Hour). If you have any questions, just drop in. I will be there.

1st July Wednesday 10am:

• Lecture recordings for the week will be released in Echo360. This week's topic is Database Programming with PLpgSQL. Textbook chapters 6, 7, 8 and 10. The lecture notes will be published in WebCMS3.
• Lab04 on SQL and PLpgSQL functions will be released. Please ask for help from the tutors if you have any problems with running/doing the labs.

3rd July Friday 4pm-5.30pm: There is no problem solving session. But instead, I will have an extended consultation session. You can ask any questions on the topics so far. Meet me at BB collaborate ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Week 5 Extended Consultation).

3rd July Friday 6pm: Week 5 quiz is released. NOTE that this quiz is due Sunday 5th July, as we are not allowed to have an assessment deadline on QUIET WEEK (Week 6).

3rd July Friday 6pm : Assignment 2 released. 4th July Saturday 10am : Assignment 2 released ... will send a notice when it is up.

Weekly Online Help Sessions (with Tutors)

• Wednesday 12-1pm: Online help session on BB Collaborate with Anchit/Rahma ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Wed 12-1pm). If you have any question or need help with the lab, you can join this session.
• Thursday 12-1pm: Online help session on BB Collaborate with Rahma/Yashothara ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Thursday 12-1pm Lab). If you have any question or need help with the lab, you can join this session.
• Friday 2-3pm: Online help session on BB Collaborate with Anchit/Yashothara ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Friday 2-3pm Lab). If you have any question or need help with the lab, you can join this session.

Drop me a line on this course forum if you have any question. Or come and see me tomorrow for consultation.

Regular Expression in PostgreSQL

Posted by Helen Paik Tuesday 23 June 2020, 05:36:56 PM.

Quite a few students asking about the regular expressions in PostgreSQL (in Lab02). I tried to look for some helpful materials that I can point to, but I still think the PostgreSQL manual page is the best source ... And I know you don't want to read up on big documentation ... The documentation is big, because PostgreSQL has quite an extensive support for text pattern matching.

This also means, you do not need to understand the complete reg expression features of PostgreSQL to be able to do what you want ... For most part, the common pattern matching syntax (e.g., matching alphabet, digits, etc) would be really enough. And those common pattern matching syntax, PostgreSQL syntax isn't that much different to other languages like Python.

Anyway, I will keep looking for some resources I can point you to, or I will also see if sometime this week, I could make a quick video about regular expressions and release it. Obviously, if anybody find a good tutorial, please share it.

One thing ... although it is a VERY useful syntax feature to know, it is not core topic of the course. It is just a syntax feature that is available in PostgreSQL that you can learn when you have time. Having said this, see how useful regular expression is in doing the final stage of assignment 1.

Week 4 Activity Summary

Posted by Helen Paik Monday 22 June 2020, 10:56:05 AM.

Here is the summary of this week's activities for you (all in AEST)

23rd June Tuesday 12-1pm: I will have a consultation hour on BB Collaborate ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Helen Consultation Hour). If you have any questions, just drop in. I will be there.

24th June Wednesday 10am:

• Lecture recordings for the week will be released in Echo360. This week's topic is SQL. Textbook chapters 6 and 7. The lecture notes will be published in WebCMS3.
• Lab03 on SQL will be released. Please ask for help from the tutors if you have any problems with running/doing the labs.

26th June Friday 4pm-5.30pm: Live problem/example solving session with Helen ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Week 4 Problem Solving Together). This week is on SQL.

26th June Friday 6pm: Week 4 quiz is released. The quiz is due the following Monday 10am.

Weekly Online Help Sessions (with Tutors)

• Wednesday 12-1pm: Online help session on BB Collaborate with Anchit/Rahma ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Wed 12-1pm). If you have any question or need help with the lab, you can join this session.
• Thursday 12-1pm: Online help session on BB Collaborate with Rahma/Yashothara ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Thursday 12-1pm Lab). If you have any question or need help with the lab, you can join this session.
• Friday 2-3pm: Online help session on BB Collaborate with Anchit/Yashothara ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Friday 2-3pm Lab). If you have any question or need help with the lab, you can join this session.

Drop me a line on this course forum if you have any question. Or come and see me tomorrow for consultation.

Stage 2 of the assignment 1 is available

Posted by Helen Paik Sunday 21 June 2020, 06:22:21 PM.

Well done everyone who completed the Stage 1. Now the next stage (final stage) of the assignment 1 is available. Go to Assignments to find the spec released.

Assignment 1 Stage 1 Due 6pm today - Quiz 3 due Monday 10am

Posted by Helen Paik Sunday 21 June 2020, 11:54:35 AM.

Just a reminder of the upcoming deadlines ... Note that we move into the stage 2 of the first assignment straight after and we will not take late submissions . So make sure that you get your Wiki pages in before 6pm deadline and DO NOT make any updates after that time. The instructions for Stage 2 will be released soon after 6pm today.

Week 3 Activity Summary

Posted by Helen Paik Monday 15 June 2020, 11:27:40 AM.

Here is the summary of this week's activities for you (all in AEST)

IMPORTANT: Sunday 21st June 6pm - Assignment 1 Stage 1 Due.

16th June Tuesday 12-1pm: I will have a consultation hour on BB Collaborate ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Helen Consultation Hour). If you have any questions, just drop in. I will be there.

17th June Wednesday 10am:

• Lecture recordings for the week will be released in Echo360. This week's topic is Relational Algebra and SQL (intro). Textbook chapters 6,7 and 8. The lecture notes will be published in WebCMS3.
• The solutions for the Week 2 lab will be released. There will be no new lab released this week. You can catch up with Week 2 Lab and its solutions. Although there is no new lab exercise, the online help sessions still run . Please ask for help from the tutors if you have any problems with running/doing the labs.

19th June Friday 4pm-5.30pm: Live problem/example solving session with Helen ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Week 3 Problem Solving Together). This week is on Relational Algebra and SQL (intro).

19th June Friday 6pm: Week 3 quiz is released. There will be a quiz released every week. We release one on Friday 6pm and it will be due the following Monday 10am.

21st June Sunday 6pm : Assignment 1 Stage 1 Due.

Weekly Online Help Sessions (with Tutors)

• Wednesday 12-1pm: Online help session on BB Collaborate with Anchit/Rahma ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Wed 12-1pm). If you have any question or need help with the lab, you can join this session.
• Thursday 12-1pm: Online help session on BB Collaborate with Rahma/Yashothara ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Thursday 12-1pm Lab). If you have any question or need help with the lab, you can join this session.
• Friday 2-3pm: Online help session on BB Collaborate with Anchit/Yashothara ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Friday 2-3pm Lab). If you have any question or need help with the lab, you can join this session.

Drop me a line on this course forum if you have any question. Or come and see me tomorrow for consultation.

Reminder Quiz 2 and Assignment Stage 1 - Group registration

Posted by Helen Paik Sunday 14 June 2020, 05:05:25 PM, last modified Sunday 14 June 2020, 05:05:36 PM.

This is just a friendly reminder for the quiz 2 which is due tomorrow morning 10am. Also, make sure that you register your group through WebCMS - we need to know the group details to allocate the marks properly! Please find a group and register ASAP.

Assignment 1 Started

Posted by Helen Paik Wednesday 10 June 2020, 11:38:38 AM.

Hello class ... the assignment 1 spec is available. Please form your group and start the task ASAP - the assignment is done in two stages. The first stage is due 21st June (Sunday) 6pm. The second stage task is related to Stage 1 and is due on 3rd July (Friday) 6pm. Any question on the assignment spec, please post it on the forum.

Week 2 Activity Summary

Posted by Helen Paik Monday 08 June 2020, 09:46:05 AM, last modified Monday 08 June 2020, 10:12:29 AM.

Here is the summary of this week's activities for you (all in Australia Eastern Standard Time)

Tuesday 12-1pm: I will have a consultation hour on BB Collaborate ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Helen Consultation Hour). If you have any questions, just drop in. I will be there.

Wednesday 10am:

• Lecture recordings for the week will be released in Echo360. The lecture notes will be published in WebCMS3. All links will be posted here in WebCMS3.
• Week 2 lab will be released.
• Assignment 1 specification is released, due in Week 5. Note: the assignment 1 will be done in pairs (i.e., group of two). Find and register your group under WebCMS3 Menu > Groups. You can leave a message on WebCMS3 Menu > Looking for a group page to find your assignment partner. Two max.

Friday 4pm-5.30pm: Live problem/example solving session with Helen ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Week 2 Problem Solving Together). Some weeks, I've decided to use the Friday lecture slot to open a problem solving session to go through some exercises relevant for the topics of the week. There will be one this week on ER to Relational Model Mapping.

Friday 6pm: Week 2 quiz is released. There will be a quiz released every week. We release one on Friday 6pm and it will be due the following Monday 10am.

Online Help Sessions (with Tutors)

• Wednesday 12-1pm: Online help session on BB Collaborate with Anchit/Rahma ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Wed 12-1pm). If you have any question or need help with the lab, you can join this session.
• Thursday 12-1pm: Online help session on BB Collaborate with Rahma/Yashothara ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Thursday 12-1pm Lab). If you have any question or need help with the lab, you can join this session.
• Friday 2-3pm: Online help session on BB Collaborate with Anchit/Yashothara ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Friday 2-3pm Lab). If you have any question or need help with the lab, you can join this session.

Drop me a line on this course forum if you have any question. Or come and see me tomorrow for consultation.

Exercise notes updated

Posted by Helen Paik Friday 05 June 2020, 08:13:57 PM.

I've updated the exercise file - with answers and also the non-standard notations used in the employee-department diagram. The updates I made may not exactly reflect semantics expressed in the textbook (Figure 3.15), but you should be able to read it using "our standard notations" and attempt the exercise.

Basically, the textbook notations combined the notion of cardinality and participation by using (min, max) constraints. But it is my opinion that our standard notations (used in some other textbooks too) are clearer and easy to read/understand !!

Quiz 1 (and quizzes in general)

Posted by Helen Paik Friday 05 June 2020, 06:41:24 PM.

The first quiz is out. Go to Menu > Activities > Quiz. The submission is due on Monday (8th) 10am.

For the quizzes, don't rely on my reminders - as I may forget to send out one. Just know that every Friday 6pm, a quiz for that week's topic is out. You need to submit the answers by the following Monday 10am.

Remember - quizzes are not meant to be tricky or difficult. I just want you to review the weekly content regularly by doing the quizzes every week. So don't miss an easy opportunity to get some marks :-)

Week 1 Activity Summary

Posted by Helen Paik Monday 01 June 2020, 01:59:21 PM, last modified Tuesday 02 June 2020, 12:47:36 AM.

Hello, we are starting! are you ready?

Here is the summary of this week's activities for you (all in Australia Eastern Standard Time)

Tuesday 12-1pm: I will have a consultation hour on BB Collaborate ( via Moodle , Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Helen Consultation Hour). If you have any questions, just drop in. I will be there.

Wednesday 10am:

• Lecture recordings for the week will be released in Echo360. The lecture notes will be published in WebCMS3. All links will be posted here in WebCMS3.
• Week 1 lab will be released.

Wednesday 12-1pm: Online help session on BB Collaborate with Anchit ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Wed 12-1pm Lab Anchit). If you have any question or need help with the lab, you can join this session.

Friday 2-3pm: Online help session on BB Collaborate with Anchit (via Moodle, details will be posted). If you have any question or need help with the lab, you can join this session.

Friday 4pm-5.30pm: Live problem/example solving session with Helen ( via Moodle > Go to BB Collaborate Live Session > Week 1 Problem Solving Together). Some weeks, I've decided to use the Friday lecture slot to open a problem solving session to go through some exercises relevant for the topics of the week. There will be one this week on ER modelling.

Friday 6pm: Week 1 quiz is released. There will be a quiz released every week. We release one on Friday 6pm and it will be due the following Monday 10am.

Drop me a line on this course forum if you have any question. Or come and see me tomorrow for consultation.

Welcome to 2020 Term 2 offering of Database Systems

Posted by Helen Paik Monday 18 May 2020, 11:53:39 PM, last modified Friday 29 May 2020, 09:00:50 PM.

First, I would like to welcome everyone and I hope all of you are looking forward to learning about database systems.

In this notice, I will briefly outline how I plan to run the course in Term 2.

Due to the COVID-19 situation, we will be running all course activities online. In the context of our course, this means lectures, consultations, lab help sessions and all assessment activities (assignments and final exam) are done via a mixture of online platforms and tools. We also must consider that significant portions of our students this term are taking this course from overseas and they may be in different timezones and have different Internet access availability.

Course management: We use WebCMS3 to manage the course (the very system you are reading this notice from). All announcements, lecture notes, lab notes, assignment spec, etc. are going to be posted here. Moodle is used to provide access to Echo360 lecture recordings.

Lectures : For now, I plan to pre-record lecture videos and upload them in time for the scheduled class times (Wed 7-9pm, Fri 4-6pm AST). Depending on how we travel (and your feedback), I may also open live stream lectures in some weeks using our scheduled class times, but expect most of the theory part of the lectures to be in pre-recorded videos. I decided to go this way because (i) I hear that the attendance of the live stream lectures is not so great in general, and we do have students in different time zones, (ii) I could be more efficient and cut out all the 'um...'s and 'eh...'s, making the delivery time (hence lecture attending time for you) shorter.

Labs : Lab notes are self-guided exercises and you are expected to follow the guide using your own computer. We will schedule lab help sessions (drop-in) throughout the week (via Blackboard Collaborate) and there will be tutors present to help you.

Assessment: All assignments and exam will be conducted online. Details of how things will be managed will be posted in due course.

You can start using the Q and A page or Forums to ask questions. Feel free to ask questions and talk amongst yourselves in the class - I think we need more communications with each other to build a good learning environment online.

Looking forward to virtually meeting you all.