Database courses with realistic student projects (Panel Session)

• Published in: SIGCSE bulletin 1983-02, Vol.15 (1), p.124-124
• Main Authors: Driscoll, James R., Honkonen, Pentti A., Shay, William, Peck, John C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0097-8418
• DOI: 10.1145/952978.801030

This session will consist of a panel discussion of courses in DBMS which involve student projects using commercially available database management systems. A list of panelists and a synopsis of their topics follows. John C. Peck, Chairman Clemson University has used IDMS (a network model by Cullinane Database Systems, Inc.) for the last 8 years in the senior level introductory course in database management. Although all three popular models (network, hierarchical, and relational) are covered in the course a team project (3 or 4 member teams) using IDMS in an online environment is assigned to reinforce the ideas central to all three models. The pros and cons of using large mainframes for such a course are discussed. James R. Driscoll The University of Central Florida has undertaken a project to implement fundamental versions of all three popular DBMS models on low-end microcomputer configurations. Dr. Driscoll will discuss the development of RQL (Relational Query Language) and RMS (Relational Menu Systems) which are used at UCF. Pentti A. Honkonen Georgia State University has access to three database management systems for its course in DBMS. Dr. Honkonen will compare the Instructional Information Management System, Univac's DMS/90 and The Relational Information Management Systems (RIMS) as they pertain to instructional use in a university environment. William Shay The University of Wisconsin at Green Bay offers a project-oriented course in DBMS utilizing a CODASYL type DBMS from Xerox called the Extended Data Management System (EDMS). In this course each student designs, loads, and processes against a real database. The nature of the project and the experiences encountered during the past 4 years the course has been taught will be discussed.