This book covers the fundamentals of modern database management systems, in particular relational database systems. It is intended as a text that can be used in an introductory database course for undergraduates, and in a second database course at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Basic concepts and widely-used, industry-standard techniques are emphasized. Up-to-date coverage includes chapters on physical database design and tuning, deductive and active databses, object-databases and decision support (OLAP, data warehousing and data mining).
Extensively class-tested in two beta-editions, it is now available from McGraw-Hill in a regular edition for FALL 1997! (Publication date: August 22, 1997, ISBN: 007050775-9) DO YOU WANT TO SEE A DRAFT ASAP FOR POSSIBLE FALL 97 ADOPTION?
If you are using the book in a course this semester, PLEASE REGISTER!!! You will be notified of password changes for restricted support material (e.g., code, solutions) and of important bugs. A link to a list of bugs is available: ERRATA AND CLARIFICATIONS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Click here for the table of contents, and information about the book's modular organization.
FREE ON-LINE SUPPORTING MATERIALS available for instructors:
FIGURES in xfig and postscript formats (useful for making your own lecture slides)
LECTURE SLIDES in MS Powerpoint and postscript formats
MINIBASE ASSIGNMENTS to go with the MINIBASE SOFTWARE
SOLUTIONS to exercises (book exercises and Minibase assignments)
USING THE BOOK:
The MINIBASE relational DBMS software has been developed in conjunction with this book, and is available freely via ftp; runs on many versions of Unix.
BY ITSELF: The book is well-suited for a first or second course that stresses concepts, and takes an example-driven, quantitative approach. The example-based, detailed coverage of database design, in particular physical database design, makes it a good choice for a first course in database systems. The extensive coverage of storage and indexing techniques makes it suitable for a first course in file systems, with an introduction to databases. The thorough treatment of concurrency control, recovery, parallel and distributed databases, and advanced topics such as deductive and active databases, object-databases and decision support make it suitable for a second course.
WITH MINIBASE: The software can be used to support a course that emphasizes concepts, and has no implementation projects, by creating exercises and experiments that involve no programming. (Example exercises and solutions available.)
WITH MINIBASE: The book is ideal for a course that has a strong systems emphasis and assumes that students have good programming skills in C and C++; it has been used for several semesters at Wisconsin and elsewhere for such a course. In this case, the software can be used as the basis for implementation projects in which students are asked to implement various parts of a relational DBMS. (Example projects and solutions available.)
If you have further questions, contact Raghu Ramakrishnan at Wisconsin. If you are an instructor, you can request a FREE SAMPLE COPY. If you are using the book and have found bugs or typos, or want to comment on the presentation or content, please send me mail.
May 1997
Raghu Ramakrishnan [raghu@cs.wisc.edu]