Introduction to Databases

Statement of accomplishement
Course taken on October to December 2011 at Stanford Enginnering Everywhere.

[Statement of accomplishment pdf soon]

About the Course
This is an introductory course on databases primarily focusing on how databases and database systems are used in applications. The course will cover relational databases and SQL as well as cover semi-structured and unstructured data using the XML and JSON models. It will cover different ways of designing databases and include such important topics such as; indexes, views, transactions, authorization, integrity, triggers, and online analytical processing (OLAP). Towards the end of the class, Cloud databases and NoSQL systems will also be covered.

Created by Stanford University.

Course Syllabus
This course covers database design and the use of database management systems for applications. It includes extensive coverage of the relational model, relational algebra, and SQL. It also covers XML data including DTDs and XML Schema for validation, and the query and transformation languages XPath, XQuery, and XSLT. The course includes database design in UML, and relational design principles based on dependencies and normal forms. Many additional key database topics from the design and application-building perspective are also covered: indexes, views, transactions, authorization, integrity constraints, triggers, on-line analytical processing (OLAP), JSON, and emerging NoSQL systems. Working through the entire course provides comprehensive coverage of the field, but most of the topics are also well-suited for "a la carte" learning.

Jennifer Widom, Fletcher Jones Professor and Chair of the Computer Science Department Professor
Jennifer Widom is the Fletcher Jones Professor and Chair of the Computer Science Department at Stanford University. She received her Bachelors degree from the Indiana University School of Music in 1982 and her Computer Science Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1987. She was a Research Staff Member at the IBM Almaden Research Center before joining the Stanford faculty in 1993. Her research interests span many aspects of nontraditional data management.