Grades will be based on class participation
(5%) homeworks (15%), two mid-term exams
(15% each), a final exam (20%), and a project
(30%).
Class participation:
Students are expected to
contribute to learning by asking questions and
making relevant comments in class. Quality
is more important than quantity. Disruptive
activity contributes negatively. Please make sure
all disruptive devices are disabled while in class.
Homeworks:
Homeworks include programming and
non-programming ones. No collaboration is
permitted. You are allowed to discuss the
problems at a high level, but the final solution
must be your individual work.
Exams:
All exams are open book, open notes. You
are free to bring with you any resources that
you find useful. However, no communications are
permitted other than between students and me.
Project:
In addition to the programming and other
homeworks, the course features a semester-long
group project. Students will work in groups
of three or four to design and implement a
substantial database application. Projects will
be graded based on a written project report, the
submitted source code, a demonstration, and a
question-and-answer session following the demo.
COS 580:
There will be additional readings
assigned to COS 580 students. The readings will
be a mix of some classic papers of the database
field and more recent publications. COS 580
students are expected to be comfortable reading
such papers. There will also be additional and/or different questions on the exams and homeworks.
Similarly, COS 580 students will be held to a
higher standard during the question-and-answer
session following the project demo.