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<title>Software Engineering at Oxford | Database Design ( DAT )</title>

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<h1 style="vertical-align:middle"><img align="middle" valign="middle" style="vertical-align:middle" border="0" src="../images/DAT.jpg"> Database Design</h1>
      <div>
	
	<p><p>Relational database technology is the dominant approach to information storage, with products that offer an unmatched combination of abstraction and performance. To use these products effectively, however, requires an understanding of the underlying principles and concepts.</p>
<h4>Frequency</h4>
<p>This course normally runs twice a year.</p></p>
<h4>Course dates</h4>
<center>
<table style="margin-left: 20px" width="95%">
<tr><td width="22%" valign="top">24th November 2025</td><td valign="top">Oxford University Department of Computer Science - Held in the Department</td><td valign="top" width="33%">07 places remaining.</td></tr>
<tr><td width="22%" valign="top">18th May 2026</td><td valign="top">Oxford University Department of Computer Science - Held in the Department</td><td valign="top" width="33%">14 places remaining.</td></tr>
</table>
</center>
<h4>Objectives</h4>
<p><p>At the end of the course, students will</p>
<ul>
<li>have had a thorough introduction to the underlying principles of modern relational databases; and</li>
<li>be able to use these insights in designing data models.</li>
</ul></p>
<h4>Contents</h4>
<p><dl>
<dt><span> Introduction</span></dt>
<dd>evolution of database systems; database system architecture; database management systems.</dd>
<dt><span> The entity-relationship model</span></dt>
<dd>semantic modelling; entity-relationship diagram elements; entity-relationship diagrams; design principles; modelling constraints; limitations of the entity-relationship model.</dd>
<dt><span> The relational data model</span></dt>
<dd>objectives; aspects; terminology; relational integrity; views; relational algebra; relational calculus; limitations of the relational data model.</dd>
<dt><span> SQL</span></dt>
<dd>queries; subqueries; full relation operations; modifying databases; defining relation schemas; defining views; constraints and triggers.</dd>
<dt><span> Normalisation</span></dt>
<dd>functional dependencies and normalisation; denormalisation.</dd>
<dt><span> Query optimisation</span></dt>
<dd>query processing; query decomposition; a heuristical approach to query optimisation.</dd>
<dt><span> Transaction management</span></dt>
<dd>recovery; concurrency.</dd>
<dt><span> Distributed databases</span></dt>
<dd>principles; client/server systems; DBMS independence; data warehousing.</dd>
</dl></p>
<h4>Requirements</h4>
<p><p>Some familiarity with discrete mathematics would be useful; <a href="http://www.softeng.ox.ac.uk/subjects/SEM.html">Software Engineering Mathematics</a> would be an ideal preparation.</p></p>

	
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