CSE 6331                                                                                                             Fall 2009

Advanced Topics in Database Systems

Spatial Databases

 

Instructor: Professor Ramez Elmasri              Office: 108 GACB                      Phone: (817)272-2348

Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday 3:30 PM ~ 4:30 PM                                          Email: elmasri@cse.uta.edu

Class Time: Tuesday, Thursday: 2:00-3:20pm                                                               Class Room: 105 GACB

Course Topic: Spatial and Moving Objects Databases and Recent DB Research                                               

Prerequisites: Database Systems 1 and 2 (CSE5330 and CSE5331) or equivalents

Course Web Page: crystal.uta.edu/~elmasri/adb/

Textbook: Spatial Databases, by Shekhar and Chawla, published by Prentice-Hall, 2003.

GTA: Jae Sung Choi

GTA E-mail: db2.cse@gmail.com .                                                                         GTA Office and Hours: TBA.

 

Course Content: This course is divided into two parts. In the first part, we will cover concepts of Spatial Databases following the textbook. The topics to be covered include:

  1. Introduction (Chapter 1).
  2. Spatial Concepts and Data Models (Chapter 2).
  3. Spatial Query Languages (Chapter 3).
  4. Spatial Storage and Indexing (Chapter 4).
  5. Query Processing and Optimization (Chapter 5).
  6. Spatial Networks (Chapter 6).
  7. Introduction to Spatial Data Mining (Chapter 7).
  8. Trends in Spatial Databases (Chapter 8).

Following that, we will give an introduction to the topic of Moving Objects Databases, which are used to track moving objects, such as vehicles, cell phones, etc.

The later topics may or may not be covered, depending on time. Following this, there will be a test shortly after the mid-semester point. This is the only test, and will count for 35% of the course grade.

In the second part of the course, each student will: (1) make a presentation on a recent database research topic, (2) write a report on the topic, and (3) do a programming project. The programming project can be done in a group of 2 students, or individually.

 

Paper Presentation: The research topic for each student will be based on papers from the latest database conferences. Papers will be assigned during the first two weeks of class. A schedule for paper presentations will be made available once the papers are assigned. The papers should be selected from the following 3 conferences: ACM SIGMOD Conference, IEEE ICDE Conference, and VLDB Conference, from the last three years (2007, 2008, 2009) of each conference. Links to the Web sites of the conference proceedings will be on the course Web site, and should be accessible from any UTA computer. Each student should make a list of 5 paper titles (include the conference proceedings (such as VLDB or SIGMOD) and the page numbers (such as pp.321-332) for each of your paper choices) in order of preference by the second week of class (you can read the paper abstracts to choose topics that seem of interest to you). (The papers do not have to be on the topics of Spatial and Moving Objects databases). Following that, we will make the paper assignments. Each student will present one primary research paper, but is responsible for reading other related papers in order to understand the background and related research (a list of other related papers must be referenced in the presentation). Your presentation should concentrate on describing the primary paper in detail, with reference to other closely related papers if needed to give the background for the research and to make the presentation clear.

Report on Research Topic: You will write a report summarizing the research topic of your primary paper. You must read at least 4 other related papers and include their references/summary in the research report. However, the report should focus on the primary paper.

Programming Project: This will be related to some aspect of spatial or moving objects databases, and can be done individually or in a group of two students. A list of possible project topics will be made available as the topics are being covered in the first part of the course. The projects can use any available DBMS in the new Database Teaching Lab (Room 231 NH). Students will also be given accounts on the ORACLE DBMS on the OMEGA machine. A project demo and report will be required.

 

Grading: Attendance and class participation: 10%. Midterm Test: 35%. Research Presentation: 20%. Research Report: 10%. Project demo: 15%. Project report: 10%.

 

Student Code Name and Email Account:

Each student should send an email to the Mr. Jae Sung Choi (db2.cse@gmail.com), with the following information:

  1. The preferred email account for the student; the GTA will use this email to notify students of relevant announcements and course information.
  2. A secret code name made of 5 alphanumeric characters (starting with a letter); the student will use this code to access their grades.

 

 

Omega Machine:

Make sure you have an account on Omega (omega.uta.edu). This is the machine on which projects may be implemented. To obtain an account on Omega or if you have questions about machine usage, please go to the Web site:   http://oit.uta.edu/

Click on ¡°Student Accounts¡±

 

You will also have an account created for you on the ORACLE database system, which should have the same initial account name and password as your Omega account.

 

Disability:

If any student needs special accommodations because of a disability, please contact the Instructor during the first week of classes.

 

Academic Honesty:

You are expected to adhere to the highest standards of academic integrity. This means that plagiarism in any form is unacceptable. Plagiarism will be assumed, until disproved, on work that is essentially the same as that of other students. Your work must be your own. This refers to tests and programming projects. Should you be found to be cheating, at a minimum, you will fail that assignment and a letter will be sent to the Department, the College of Engineering, and to the Graduate School. The Instructor reserves the right to stronger action should the situation warrant it.