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Introduction to Data Systems and Data Design

In this course, we will focus on data and the methods to model, organize, manage, and process data at scale using modern data systems. We will begin with data modeling—how to describe and model data, how to query it, and understand its logical semantics and properties. Next, we will explore ways to process and manage data, both relationally and using more flexible frameworks. Additionally, we will cover practical design principles such as schema design, integrity constraints, and an introduction to data management systems that help us understand performance and speed of data processing.

  • Date: Monday/Wednesday
  • Time: 01:30 pm - 02:50 pm
  • Place: JCL 011
  • Contact: Ce Zhang (cez@uchicago.edu)
  • Textbook: Database Systems: The Complete Book (Jennifer Widom, Héctor García-Molina, Jeffrey Ullman)
    • We also frequently draw inspirations from Foundations of Databases: The Logical Level (Serge Abiteboul, Richard Hull, Victor Vianu); it is not mandatory for this course, but it is another amazing book for understanding data in general

Syllabus & Materials (Might Change Slightly)

Lecture(id, date, title, materials)
iddatetitlematerials
1Sep/30Apollo, the Moon, and a DatabaseSlides
2Oct/02Inference, Logical Inference, and Relational ModelsSlides; Reading: Chapter 2
3Oct/07Query Language and SQLSlides; Reading: Chapter 6
4Oct/09Queries, Queries, QueriesSlides; Reading: Chapter 6
5Oct/14Known Unknowns, Uncertainty, and ValuesSlides Reading: Chapter 6
6Oct/16Views and RecursionSlides Reading: Chapter 10.2
7Oct/21No ClassN/A
8Oct/23Guest Lecture – Theo RekatsinasReading: N/A
9Oct/28Entity-relationship and Design TheorySlides; Reading: Chapter 4
10Oct/30Logical Modelling and ConstraintsSlides; Reading: Chapter 7
11Nov/04Database Systems and the I/O GameSlides; Reading: Chapter 13
12Nov/06Database Systems: Files and BufferSlides; Reading: Chapter 13, 15.7
13Nov/11Database Systems: Indices and OperatorsSlides; Reading: Chapter 14
14Nov/13Database Systems: Query Execution and OptimizationSlides Reading: Chapter 15, 16
15Nov/18Database Systems: TransactionsSlides Reading: Chapter 17, 18, 19
16Nov/20Database Systems: TransactionsReading: Chapter 17, 18, 19
17Dec/02Database Systems: TransactionsSlides Reading: Chapter 17, 18, 19
18Dec/04A Database Systems: TransactionsReading: Chapter 17, 18, 19