MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF BUSINESS SCIENCES

MASTER OF COMMERCE IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT

MIM732 –ADVANCED DATABASES

Module Outline 2021
Module Convener:
Dr. Munyaradzi. Zhou (PhD) – Senior Lecturer; Department of Information Systems
Contact No. +263 712 307 951 / 0772 837 264
Email: zhoum@staff.msu.ac.zw

MODULE DESCRIPTION
The goal of this module is to teach the fundamentals of the database systems at post
graduate level. A variety of topics will be covered that are important for modern
databases (see below) in order to prepare the students for real life applications of
databases. Prerequisite knowledge of database systems is required at undergraduate
level. The module will probably overlap with what is covered at the undergraduate
database classes but will cover the topics in more detail and at a faster pace.

Description of teaching method

The Module is organized and taught using a combination of lectures and tutorials. The
Lecturer conducts both the lectures and presentations. During all lectures, students are
expected to participate in analytical class discussions and presentations on assigned
class activities.

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Method of Assessment
The Module is assessed through continuous assessment and a written examination.
The Module is marked out of 100 marks with the following breakdown:
a. Continuous assessment shall constitute 40% of the final assessment.
b. Written examination shall constitute 60% of the final assessment.
c. In order to pass this Module, a student should obtain at least 50% of the
continuous assessment and written examination combined.
d. Student must attend at least 80% of lectures and should submit assignments as
per the due dates
e. No plagiarism in assignments and presentations. If you plagiarize a zero will be
recorded and there is no make-up.

MODULE CONTENT
1. DATABASE SYSTEMS ARCHITECTURES
1.1 Centralized Architecture
1.2 Client Server Architecture
1.3 Server System Architecture
1.4 Parallel Architecture
1.5 Distributed Architecture

2. PARALLEL DATABASES
2.1 I/O Parallelism
2.2 Interquery Parallelism
2.3 Intraquery Parallelism
2.4 Intraoperation Parallelism
2.5 Interoperation Parallelism
2.6 Design of Parallel Systems
3. DISTRIBUTED DATABASES
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Homogenous and Heterogeneous Databases
3.3 Distributed Transactions
3.4 Commit Protocol
3.5 Concurrency Control
3.6 Accessing and Modifying Information in Multiple Databases

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4. SPECIALTY DATABASES AND APPLICATIONS
4.1 Object based databases
4.2 Temporal databases
4.3 Spatial data and geographic databases
4.4 Multimedia databases
4.5 SQL and NoSQL databases (new knowledge generation)
5. DATA WAREHOUSING, SCIENCE AND ANALYTICS
5.1 Introduction to Data Warehousing
5.2 Data warehouse architecture
5.3 Warehouse schemas
5.4 OLAP, OLTP, and data cubes (compare and contrast the first two)
5.5 Data Science and Analytics (methods for managing and analyzing large
datasets, big data applications, and data product development)
6. KNOWLEDGE BASE SYSTEMS AND DATA MINING
6.1 Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining
6.2 Association Rules
6.3 Data mining algorithms (C4.5, K-Means, Support Vector Machines, Apriori, K-
Nearest Neighbors(KNN), Naïve Bayes, Classification and Regression Tree
(CART)) include practical examples with workings
6.4 Data mining applications
6.5 Big Data and Privacy-preserving data mining
7. XML Data and WEB database
7.1 Overview of XML
7.2 Storing and Extracting XML Documents from Databases
7.3 XML languages
7.4 Extracting XML documents from relational Databases
7.5 XML Hierarchical (Tree) and Data model
7.6 Querying XML Data
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 7.7 Storage of XML Data
7.8 XML Documents, DTD and XML Schema
7.9 Appraisal of HTML and JSON in relation to XML

RECOMMENDEND READING LIST

 Database system concepts’, 6/7th Edition –Abraham Silberschatz, Henry Korth,
S, Sudarshan, (McGraw Hill International)
 Database systems: "Design implementation and management"- Rob Coronel,
4thEdition, (Thomson Learning Press)
 Database Management Systems - Raghu Ramkrishnan, Johannes Gehrke
Second Edition, (McGraw Hill International)
 Database Management System - Alexis Leaon, Mathews Leon, (Leon press)
 Fundamentals of Database Systems - Remez Elmasri, Shamkant Navathe,
Pearson,5th Ed
 Database Systems – a Practical approach to design, implementation &
Management -Thomes M. Colnnolly, Carolyn E. Begg, Pearson 4th Ed.
 Data Mining Concepts & Techniques – Jiawaei & Micheline Kamber, ELSEVIER
second Edition.

These are not the only books to be read. Any other book on databases
systems may be consulted plus you are advised to read any electronic books
on database systems.

PRESENTATIONS MUST INCLUDE: - (but not limited to)

Definition of key terms
Focus on emerging technologies in each case and areas of applications
Content that is diversified, rich and dove-tailed
Appraisal of database products and applications
Giving practical examples and or commands/queries where applicable (Mainly
use MongoDB, MS SQL Server; Oracle Dbs)