Course Description

Provides an overview of the skills and knowledge of database application systems which are used in business, government, and industry. Topics include: history, database terminology and concepts, database system logical organization , data manipulation, database design concepts, models, normalization, Entity Relationship diagramming, physical database, networking and databases, and database security.

Competency Areas	Hours
History	Class	4
Database Terminology and Concepts	D. Lab	4
Database System Logical Organization	P. Lab/O.B.I.	0
Data Manipulation	Credit	6
Database Design Concepts
Models
Normalization
Entity Relationship Diagramming
Physical Database
Networking and Databases
Database Security

Prerequisite:	Advanced language course that requires random file accessing techniques
Corequisite:

Preliminary Outline

Competency	After completing this section, the student will:
History
	Be able to identify the historical contributions of major figures and organizations in the field of database technology.
	Understand the impact of computers on record keeping
Database Terminology and Concepts
	Distinguish different types of database processing orientations including data warehousing, decision support, temporal and distributed systems.
	Define key terms associated with database technology including tables, entities, columns, attributes, rows, records, keys, indexes and relationships.
	Define the major functions of a Database Management System
	Describe the roles of the Database Administrator (DBA), Database Analyst and Data Administrator
Database System Logical Organization
	Describe common database objects like tables, indexes and views.
	Define schema and subschema and identify the relationship between objects and schema.
	Define the logical storage structures such as tablespaces, segments and blocks.
Data Manipulation
	Understand the role of SQL in data processing
	Identify basic SQL clauses like Select, From, Where, Group by and Order by
	Understand SQL data types and operations like aggregation , unions, intersections and joins
	Classify SQL commands as Transaction, Data Definition or Data Manipulation
	Identify embedded SQL command structures like functions and procedures
Database Design Concepts
	Identify database design goals including functional requirements and physical constraints
	Define steps in database design methodology including modeling, entity-relationship diagramming and normalization
Models
	Understand concepts used in data organization including: pointers, linked list, trees, arrays, queues, stacks and object classes
	Describe a hierarchical data model
	Describe network data model
	Describe object-oriented data model
	Describe relational data model
	Perform data mapping from one model to another
Normalization
	Convert data from first through third normal forms.
	Convert data to higher normal forms
	Understand the relationship between normalized data components and entities
Entity Relationship Diagramming
	Define entity-relationship terms such as terminal entities, bridging entities, cardinality, key and non-key attributes and relationships
	Develop entity-relationship diagram from normalized data.
Physical Database
	Map Entity Relationship diagram to physical representation
	Identify and define the role of metadata in DBMS
	Identify and define the role of the data dictionary in DBMS.
	Identify and define the role of data files, control files and archive files in DBMS.
	Define relationships between the operating system cluster and database block, objects and segments, and tables and tablespaces.
	Understand file I/O operations including direct and sequential access methodologies
	Describe the process of file transference between the operating system and the DBMS
	Understand use of multiplexing techniques for data protection and access efficiency including RAID and disk striping
	Understand the impact of sorting on file data.
	Identify the efficiencies associated with clustering
	Explain the relationship between ‘search domain reduction’ and partitioning
	Describe loading factor impact on new block creation
	Understand the relationship between the blocking factor and application program data demands
Networking and Databases
	Be able to identify basic networking equipment including hubs, bridges and routers
	Understand the function of network protocols such as SNA and TCP/IP
	Understand local and remote network based DBMS management
	Define distributed and centralized databases
	Understand the role of the Internet as world wide data repository
	Utilize XML to reference data sources
	Understand the relationship between ‘web crawler’, search engine and inverted file structure
	Identify the major advantages and disadvantages of on-line database access.
Database Security
	Understand the role of passwords in database access security
	Understand the role of schema in object and user security
	Understand the role of the view in data security.
	Understand the significance of data encryption and physical security in networked environment.
	Explain the importance of a database backup and a journal (audit trail) as recovery tools.
	Identify the information captured in a typical database audit.
	Understand the use of triggers as a security apparatus

Suggested Resources

New Perspectives on Microsoft Access 2002, Comprehensive, ISBN: 0-619-02089-X, Adams Finnegan, Course Technology

Concepts of Database Management, Fifth Edition, ISBN: 0-619-21529-1, Pratt, Adamski, Course Technology