Ghislain Fourny: Catalogue data in Autumn Semester 2021

Award: The Golden Owl
Name Dr. Ghislain Fourny
Address
Dep. Informatik
ETH Zürich, STF H 311
Stampfenbachstrasse 114
8092 Zürich
SWITZERLAND
Telephone+41 44 632 31 55
E-mailgfourny@inf.ethz.ch
URLhttp://people.inf.ethz.ch/gfourny
DepartmentComputer Science
RelationshipLecturer

NumberTitleECTSHoursLecturers
252-0834-00LInformation Systems for Engineers Information 4 credits2V + 1UG. Fourny
AbstractThis course provides the basics of relational databases from the perspective of the user.

We will discover why tables are so incredibly powerful to express relations, learn the SQL query language, and how to make the most of it. The course also covers support for data cubes (analytics).
Learning objectiveThis lesson is complementary with Big Data for Engineers as they cover different time periods of database history and practices -- you can take them in any order, even though it might be more enjoyable to take this lecture first.

After visiting this course, you will be capable to:

1. Explain, in the big picture, how a relational database works and what it can do in your own words.

2. Explain the relational data model (tables, rows, attributes, primary keys, foreign keys), formally and informally, including the relational algebra operators (select, project, rename, all kinds of joins, division, cartesian product, union, intersection, etc).

3. Perform non-trivial reading SQL queries on existing relational databases, as well as insert new data, update and delete existing data.

4. Design new schemas to store data in accordance to the real world's constraints, such as relationship cardinality

5. Explain what bad design is and why it matters.

6. Adapt and improve an existing schema to make it more robust against anomalies, thanks to a very good theoretical knowledge of what is called "normal forms".

7. Understand how indices work (hash indices, B-trees), how they are implemented, and how to use them to make queries faster.

8. Access an existing relational database from a host language such as Java, using bridges such as JDBC.

9. Explain what data independence is all about and didn't age a bit since the 1970s.

10. Explain, in the big picture, how a relational database is physically implemented.

11. Know and deal with the natural syntax for relational data, CSV.

12. Explain the data cube model including slicing and dicing.

13. Store data cubes in a relational database.

14. Map cube queries to SQL.

15. Slice and dice cubes in a UI.

And of course, you will think that tables are the most wonderful object in the world.
ContentUsing a relational database
=================
1. Introduction
2. The relational model
3. Data definition with SQL
4. The relational algebra
5. Queries with SQL

Taking a relational database to the next level
=================
6. Database design theory
7. Databases and host languages
8. Databases and host languages
9. Indices and optimization
10. Database architecture and storage

Analytics on top of a relational database
=================
12. Data cubes

Outlook
=================
13. Outlook
Literature- Lecture material (slides).

- Book: "Database Systems: The Complete Book", H. Garcia-Molina, J.D. Ullman, J. Widom
(It is not required to buy the book, as the library has it)
Prerequisites / NoticeFor non-CS/DS students only, BSc and MSc
Elementary knowledge of set theory and logics
Knowledge as well as basic experience with a programming language such as Pascal, C, C++, Java, Haskell, Python
263-3010-00LBig Data Information Restricted registration - show details 10 credits3V + 2U + 4AG. Fourny
AbstractThe key challenge of the information society is to turn data into information, information into knowledge, knowledge into value. This has become increasingly complex. Data comes in larger volumes, diverse shapes, from different sources. Data is more heterogeneous and less structured than forty years ago. Nevertheless, it still needs to be processed fast, with support for complex operations.
Learning objectiveThis combination of requirements, together with the technologies that have emerged in order to address them, is typically referred to as "Big Data." This revolution has led to a completely new way to do business, e.g., develop new products and business models, but also to do science -- which is sometimes referred to as data-driven science or the "fourth paradigm".

Unfortunately, the quantity of data produced and available -- now in the Zettabyte range (that's 21 zeros) per year -- keeps growing faster than our ability to process it. Hence, new architectures and approaches for processing it were and are still needed. Harnessing them must involve a deep understanding of data not only in the large, but also in the small.

The field of databases evolves at a fast pace. In order to be prepared, to the extent possible, to the (r)evolutions that will take place in the next few decades, the emphasis of the lecture will be on the paradigms and core design ideas, while today's technologies will serve as supporting illustrations thereof.

After visiting this lecture, you should have gained an overview and understanding of the Big Data landscape, which is the basis on which one can make informed decisions, i.e., pick and orchestrate the relevant technologies together for addressing each business use case efficiently and consistently.
ContentThis course gives an overview of database technologies and of the most important database design principles that lay the foundations of the Big Data universe. We take the monolithic, one-machine relational stack from the 1970s, smash it down and rebuild it on top of large clusters: starting with distributed storage, and all the way up to syntax, models, validation, processing, indexing, and querying. A broad range of aspects is covered with a focus on how they fit all together in the big picture of the Big Data ecosystem.

No data is harmed during this course, however, please be psychologically prepared that our data may not always be in third normal form.

- physical storage: distributed file systems (HDFS), object storage(S3), key-value stores

- logical storage: document stores (MongoDB), column stores (HBase), graph databases (neo4j), data warehouses (ROLAP)

- data formats and syntaxes (XML, JSON, RDF, Turtle, CSV, XBRL, YAML, protocol buffers, Avro)

- data shapes and models (tables, trees, graphs, cubes)

- type systems and schemas: atomic types, structured types (arrays, maps), set-based type systems (?, *, +)

- an overview of functional, declarative programming languages across data shapes (SQL, XQuery, JSONiq, Cypher, MDX)

- the most important query paradigms (selection, projection, joining, grouping, ordering, windowing)

- paradigms for parallel processing, two-stage (MapReduce) and DAG-based (Spark)

- resource management (YARN)

- what a data center is made of and why it matters (racks, nodes, ...)

- underlying architectures (internal machinery of HDFS, HBase, Spark, neo4j)

- optimization techniques (functional and declarative paradigms, query plans, rewrites, indexing)

- applications.

Large scale analytics and machine learning are outside of the scope of this course.
LiteraturePapers from scientific conferences and journals. References will be given as part of the course material during the semester.
Prerequisites / NoticeThis course, in the autumn semester, is only intended for:
- Computer Science students
- Data Science students
- CBB students with a Computer Science background

Mobility students in CS are also welcome and encouraged to attend. If you experience any issue while registering, please contact the study administration and you will be gladly added.

For students of all other departements interested in this fascinating topic: I would love to have you visit my lectures as well! So there is a series of two courses specially designed for you:
- "Information Systems for Engineers" (SQL, relational databases): this Fall
- "Big Data for Engineers" (similar to Big Data, but adapted for non Computer Scientists): Spring 2021
There is no hard dependency, so you can either them in any order, but it may be more enjoyable to start with Information Systems for Engineers.

Students who successfully completed Big Data for Engineers are not allowed to enrol in the course Big Data.