Database Semantics Seminar

Master's Study Program in Computer Science

Advanced Databases

Prof Dr R Meersman —Spring Semester 2012

a.k.a. Database Semantics Seminar

Prerequisite knowledge: Information Systems, Introduction to Databases

Selected slides copies In PDF... —use these wisely... —last updated: March 2011

(including choice presentations by previous student teams)

click here ==> Advanced DB & Apps.ppt as PDF

2012 Schedule of individual presentations and subjects. If you are registered for this course but your name does not appear below with a topic, you may already have a problem :-)

—last updated: May 15, 2012

Please try to make your ppt slide material (and documentation sources, if not already in reader) available to me and to your opponent(s) at least one week before your presentation. As your presentations are 20 (twenty) minutes, followed by 10 (ten) minutes opposition and discussion, do not prepare more than 10-12 ppt slides!
Opponents: be critical, but try to be constructive. You are evaluated on the quality of your question. If your chosen topic happens to be the same or similar to that of the presenter, your question should reflect that additional depth and understanding ;-)

Advice: in your presentation, do not dwell unnecessarily on undergraduate material that may be assumed known, such as the Relational Model or the syntax of XML... instead go straight to the topic and your argumentation

For open discussions and sending messages to the entire class, click: CLASS

For sending messages to me, click: HERE

Term synthesis papers. The (firm) deadline for the synthesis term papers in electronic form is on Sunday June 17, 2012 at 23h59. DO NOT MISS this deadline. And in fact earlier submissions are strongly appreciated!

Each student must submit an individual paper (PLEASE deliver also a PRINTED version to my office or my lab in 10G730, not later than Tuesday June 19 at 18h00). Your paper must discuss your chosen subject in the context of extending classical (e.g. relational) database technology, linked with (a) first order declarative semantics as defined in Genesereth and Nilsson (Ch. 2), (b) the Reiter paper (the latter whenever appropriate, and argue comprehensively if not).

Topics may also be chosen from book chapters and books mentioned below, or others negotiated with me. A typical synthesis paper will be 8-12 pages (single-spaced, 12pt), but this is not a hard limit.

Important: your text must use a self-defined running example to illustrate selected definitions and support arguments made. Do not use examples from your sources. Please clearly list your sources (books, chapters, articles, web pages) at the start of your paper. The basic books and literature below need not be listed except when you directly quote from them.

Grading: you will receive a combined mark for (a) your presentation, (b) your chosen opposition question(s), and of course (c) the quality of your synthesis term paper.

Basic books and literature used (loan copies available from lecturer)
M. Genesereth and N. Nilsson, "Logical Foundations of Artificial Intelligence", Morgan-Kaufmann —Chapters 1 and 2 only
R. Reiter, "Towards a Logical Reconstruction of Relational Database Theory" —copy available from lecturer
S. Abiteboul, R. Hull, V. Vianu, "Foundations of Databases", Addison-Wesley, 1995.

Recommended for topics (for some, loan copies available from lecturer)
C. Zaniolo (ed.), "Advanced Database Systems", Morgan-Kaufmann —Chapters on Deductive, Temporal, OO, and Multimedia databases
S. Abiteboul and D. Suciu, "Data on the Web- from Relations to Semistructured Data and XML", Morgan-Kaufmann —various chapters
Tansel et al, "Temporal Databases", Benjamin-Cummings, 1993
G. Alonso, F. Casati, et al. "Web Services", Springer-Verlag, 2004.
M. Jarke et al., "Fundamentals of Data Warehouses", Springer Verlag, 2000.
M.P. Papazoglou, G. Schlageter, "Cooperative Information Systems", Academic Press, 1998.
P.N. Tan, N. Steinbach, V. Kumar, "Introduction to Data Mining", Pearson Education, 2007.
S.S. Bhowmick, S.K. Madria, W.K. Ng, "Web Data Management", Springer Verlag, 2004.
J. Minker (ed.), "Deductive Databases and Logic Programming", Morgan-Kaufman, 1990. --selected chapters
R. Meersman, S. Stevens and Z. Tari (eds.), Semantic Issues in Multimedia Databases, Kluwer 1999. --selected papers
H. Stuckenschmidt, F. van Harmelen, "Information Sharing on the Semantic Web", Springer Verlag, 2005