CSC343H1S 20231 (All Sections): Introduction to Databases
To contact the course instructors regarding personal issues related to CSC343, please use this email address:
For general course-related questions, please use Piazza or visit us during office hours.
Welcome to CSC343H! This course provides an Introduction to Databases, and prepares you for later study in the implementation of Database Management Systems.
The material posted on Quercus is required reading. It contains important information: assignment handouts, the policy on missed work, links to the online discussion forum (Piazza), the announcements page, and more. You are responsible for all announcements made in lecture and on Quercus.
Prerequisites
If you don't have the course prerequisites listed in the calendar entry, you will receive an email from the undergraduate office with a form to fill out. You must have some equivalent preparation/good reason for requesting a waiver, which will then be assessed by the instructor. If you are not issued a waiver, the registrar will remove you from the course.
Instructors
For electronic communication, please use email from your UofT address for personal issues and the discussion forum to ask general course-related questions.
For email, include “CSC343” in the subject line and sign your full name and UTORid.
| Instructor |
Jacqueline Smith |
Danny Heap |
|---|---|---|
| Office Hours | Thursdays 2:30-3:30PM On Zoom https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/86027744952 |
Tuesdays 3:30-4:30PM |
| Sections |
L0101/2001: MW11 in KP 108, F11 in SS 2135 |
L0301/2201: M3 in ES 1050, WF3 in BA 1130 |
TA Office Hours
- Fridays 1:30-2:30pm with Pan on Zoom: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/82436718671
Marking Scheme Summary
All dates/times are in Toronto time.
|
Coursework |
Weight |
Details |
Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture Preps | 10% | Each worth 1%. Completed through either PCRS or Quercus. | Due Mondays by 10am |
| Assignments (3) | 39% | Each worth 13% | Due Thursdays by 5pm in Weeks 5, 8, and 11 (Feb 9, Mar 9, Mar 30 April 6) |
| Research Survey | 1% | Earn 0.5% each by completing two surveys | Date TBA |
| Midterm Test | 15% |
In-person test: Topics and location TBA. |
March 1 6-8pm |
| Final Exam | 35% |
In-person exam. You must get 40% or above on the final exam to pass the course; otherwise, your final course grade will be no higher than 47%. |
April, TBA |
Course Format, Active Classes, and Preparation for Them
During class time in this course, we will present material and demonstrate problem solving for part of the time. There will also regularly be activities that you participate in. Be prepared to get your gears turning in class! There is good evidence, and our experience also shows, that active learning works better than passively listening to a lecture. We also think it's a lot more fun. We will use all of our meeting time for these kinds of classes, led by your instructor, so there won't be any other tutorials for this course.
Lecture preps: To prepare for these active classes, you will be doing weekly activities outside of class. These will involve learning some material on your own, through readings or videos, and practising things we've learned in class. They will always culminate in some small exercises that you hand in. These weekly activities are not intended to be greatly time consuming.
Recordings and Course Material
We will try our best to provide a recording of each of the three hours of lecture each week. Not all sections of the course will be posted. Recordings are not a substitute for coming to and engaging actively with lectures. Recordings are intended for occasional use.
Standard University note on lecture recordings: This course (or part of it), including your participation, may be recorded on audio/video/chat messages and will be available to students in the course for viewing remotely.
Course videos and materials are protected by copyright and are provided for the exclusive use of enrolled students. Do not copy, or share any course or student materials or videos without the explicit permission of the instructor. In particular, do not sell course materials, or provide them to a person or company that is using them to earn money (e.g. Chegg, CourseHero, Easy 4.0/Easy EDU, and other private tutoring companies).
Textbook (Optional)
The following textbook is suggested to support your learning in the course, however it is not required.
-
The textbook "A First Course in Database Systems" by Jeffrey D. Ullman and Jennifer Widom, 2008 (3rd Edition), available online from the publisher, Chapters, or Amazon. It is also available on two-hour loan at the Engineering Library in the Sandford Fleming Building. It may or may not be available at the UofT Bookstore at this time.
-
Our course text also a subset of the book "Database Systems: The Complete Book" by Hector Garcia-Molina, Jeff Ullman, and Jennifer Widom. You may choose to get this book instead if you prefer an eBook and/or if you intend to continue to study databases beyond this course. The chapters and page numbers line up exactly with "A First Course..."
-
This text is expensive to purchase new, and we encourage you to make use of the copies on reserve at the library instead. If you do want to purchase a copy, used books (including previous editions) are also a good option.
- Unfortunately we have not been able to find the book available legally online, other than by purchasing the eBook version of "The Complete Book" linked above.
Working with a Partner
You have the option of partnering with one other CSC343 student for your assignments, and we encourage you to do so. You may choose your own partner, and it need not be the same person for each assignment. Once you begin working on an assignment, you may not dissolve your partnership without instructor permission. Both partners will receive the same mark for joint assignments.
Working with a partner has the potential to lighten your workload and enhance your learning, or to increase your workload and impair your learning, depending on how you work together. Remember that you are responsible for learning the course material underlying all parts of the assignments. You will have the most success if you truly work together.
Assignment Policies
Assignments are due before 5:00 pm sharp. Assignments must be submitted electronically, using the MarkUs online system. When we give you the link, log in with your CS Teaching Labs username and password. Be sure to confirm that you have submitted all the required files and the correct version of each; we cannot accept missing files or a different version of an already-submitted file after the due date. Code that you submit to us for grading must work on the CS Teaching Labs machines in order to earn credit.
MarkUs is known to be slow when many students try to submit right before a deadline. Aim to submit your work at least one hour before the deadline.
Late Policy
This section describes the regular late policies for the course. See the section on applying for Special Consideration if you are experiencing an emergency or other extenuating circumstances.
Preps
No late lecture preps will be accepted.
Assignments: Late Penalty
We will accept limited late assignments with a penalty. Late penalties will be applied as follows: There is a one hour grace period in which no late penalty will be applied. For the next five hours, the deduction will be 5% per hour. For each hour above six hours, the deduction will be a further 15% per hour. After 10 hours, assignments will not be accepted. Following is an hourly breakdown of the late policy.
| On time | no penalty |
|---|---|
| up to 1 hour late | no penalty |
| up to 2 hours late | 5% penalty |
| up to 3 hours late | 10% penalty |
| up to 4 hours late | 15% penalty |
| up to 5 hours late | 20% penalty |
| up to 6 hours late | 25% penalty |
| up to 7 hours late | 40% penalty |
| up to 8 hours late | 55% penalty |
| up to 9 hours late | 70% penalty |
| up to 10 hours late | 85% penalty |
| after 10 hours late | 100% penalty |
See Special Consideration for what to do in case of serious emergencies.
Since your work is submitted electronically and will often be tested using an automated testing program, you must follow the submission instructions exactly. If you do not, you will most likely lose substantial marks on the assignment. Check your submission carefully.
Academic Integrity
The work you submit must be your own. It is an academic offence to copy someone else's work. This includes their code, their words, and even their ideas. Whether you copy or let someone else copy, it is an offence. Academic offences are taken very seriously.
At the same time, we want you to benefit from working with other students. Obviously, work done with your partner is a joint effort. You are also welcome to work appropriately with students other than your partner. It is appropriate to discuss course material and technology related to assignments, and we encourage you to do so. For example, you may work through examples that help you understand course material or a new technology, or help each other configure your system to run a supporting piece of software. You may also discuss assignment requirements.
However, other than between partners, collaboration on assignment solutions is strictly forbidden. The most certain way to protect yourself is not to discuss assignment solutions or the ideas behind them with students other than your partner. Certainly you must not let others see your assignment solutions, even in draft form, and even your rough work. Please don't cheat. We want you to succeed and are here to help if you are having difficulty.
What's OK for assignments
- Showing your solutions to your partner, your instructor, and TAs
- Asking high level questions or for clarification on the discussion board or to your classmates
- Using online documentation for SQL, or other resources for course content
What's not OK for assignments
- Showing your solutions, even if they are incomplete or wrong, to someone else
- Looking at someone else's solutions, even if they are incomplete or wrong
- Submitting solutions produced by someone other than you or your partner (e.g. from a website, from another student, from a private tutor, etc)
- Posting your solutions to a publicly accessible location (e.g. a public repo, a "study" website, etc)
Special Consideration
Students experiencing illness or other emergencies that prevent them from being able to complete homework on time, or write a term test, can request special consideration.
As we are currently in a global pandemic, and "life happens", we have created a form to allow you to easily waive one of the preps should an emergency situation or medical issue arise. Note that this does not apply to preps missed because you were not enrolled (these will be waived automatically), or to the surveys (these cannot be waived). https://forms.office.com/r/xAw3KKCVEc
Your first request for a prep waiver will be automatically approved. If you require special consideration beyond that, please send email to the course email address.
You will be required to affirm that you are abiding by the Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters, in particular that it is an offence
to engage in any form of cheating, academic dishonesty or misconduct, fraud or misrepresentation not herein otherwise described, in order to obtain academic credit or other academic advantage of any kind.
That is, you must confirm that you are truly experiencing an emergency, and acknowledge that to falsely claim so is an academic offence. Applying does not guarantee that you will be granted special consideration.
To apply for special consideration (beyond one prep) in CSC343, complete the Special Consideration Request Form and email it to the course account (csc343-2023-01@cs.toronto.edu) from your UofT email address. If your request is due to illness, fill out the absence declaration form on ACORN and include it with your email.Special consideration is at the discretion of the instructor even when documentation is given or the absence form is filled out. Do not assume you will receive any specific considerations simply because you request it or fill out the absence form.
IMPORTANT: Submit your request as soon as possible if you find yourself in such a situation. It is easier to resolve situations earlier rather than later. If your emergency will affect your ability to complete coursework for more than a few days, or in multiple courses, we recommend you also talk to your registrar.
Accessibility and Inclusion
- The University of Toronto is committed to accessibility. If you require accommodations or have any accessibility concerns, please visit Accessibility Services as soon as possible. It is much easier for instructors to meet the accommodation needs of students who are registered with Accessibility Services.
- You should also register with Accessibility Services as soon as possible if you suffer some acute injury that prevents you from participating in your courses (e.g. concussion, broken hand, etc).
- We have tried to avoid scheduling major deadlines around religious holidays, however, if you anticipate missing coursework due to a religious observance, please let us know as soon as possible, so that we can work together to make alternate arrangements.
- We aim for our classroom to be a safe learning environment for everyone. To help us achieve this, we ask that you wear a mask during lectures, ideally a high quality one such as an N95.
A note about the "Course Summary" below
The Course Summary below is a summary of due dates generated by Quercus based only on course elements that it knows about. It does not include other graded things, like some of the preps, some of which are done outside of Quercus. Please do not rely on it.
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|