Student guide Faculty of Engineering A.Y. 2010/11

Data Bases
Aim of the course
The course intends to provide students with the tools required to understand the formality and the possibility of utilising information technology and the
telematics of a company, with specific attention given to the planning and making of business information systems based on a data base. In particular, the
course aims to study the following:
1- Provide basic notions on the technology utilised for managing information;
2- Study the formality of a situation in a business circle of information applications.
Syllabus
1- The life cycle of a project SI and description of its functions. Structural planning of an SI and examples of using same DFD for the definitions of a specific
functions of a system (case studies and projects).
2- DBMS and their usefulness. Models of description and plans of a base of data. Entity of plans of data using ER models.
3- BD realisation. Interrogation of DB relations: algebra report and SQL programming. Transforming an ER model into relational. Normalisation of DB relation.
4- Exercises to introduce Microsoft Access. The creation and maintenance of tables. Managing the relationships between tables. The creation and
management of fields and records to i9nsert data into tables, connected by relations. Designing queries (create, modify, delete).
Changing parameters into queries and the usage of SQL. Generation of a report from tables and queries and their visualisation.
Examinations
The examination consists of a written test on all the topics covered in the lectures. During the course there may be progress tests substituting the
comprehensive one and group projects to integrate with the exam. There will also be two progress tests given during the course.
Reading list
- P. Atzeni, S. Ceri, S. Paraboschi, R. Torlone, Databases, McGraw Hill
- Further reading, material will be distributed by the lecturers (slides)

Recommended Readings:
- J.Ullman, J. Widom, A First Course in Database Systems Concepts, Mc Graw-Hill
- P. Pratt, Guida a SQL, Apogeo
- C. Francalanci, F.A. Schreiber, L. Tanca, Progetto di dati di funzioni, Esculapio, Bologna