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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2011/2012
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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Informatics : Informatics

Undergraduate Course: Data Integration and Exchange (Level 10) (INFR10032)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Informatics CollegeCollege of Science and Engineering
Course typeStandard AvailabilityAvailable to all students
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) Credits10
Home subject areaInformatics Other subject areaNone
Course website http://www.inf.ed.ac.uk/teaching/courses/die Taught in Gaelic?No
Course descriptionWith the proliferation of data on the web, data in different formats is scattered across many sources. Data sources may only provide partial access to data and the structure of the data may differ drastically from the assumptions used in conventional queries.

Querying such data requires data integration and exchange between different sources. The notion of querying and the meaning of an answer to a query are different from their classical counterparts: since only a partial view of the data is available, answers to queries are at best approximate. Furthermore, integrated data may not be consistent with its specification, and hence techniques for querying inconsistent data become more important.

This course presents the basics of data integration and exchange, explains techniques for querying incomplete and inconsistent information, for specifying correspondences between database schemas and schema mappings, and for querying databases using views. Both relational and XML data formats are considered.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: Database Systems (INFR09011)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Students MUST NOT also be taking Data Integration and Exchange (Level 11) (INFR11058)
Other requirements For Informatics PG and final year MInf students only, or by special permission of the School.
Additional Costs None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus?Yes
Course Delivery Information
Delivery period: 2011/12 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1) WebCT enabled:  No Quota:  None
Location Activity Description Weeks Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
CentralLecture1-11 11:10 - 13:00
First Class Week 1, Monday, 11:10 - 13:00, Zone: Central. Forrest Hill 3.D02
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours:Minutes
Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May)2:00
Delivery period: 2011/12 Semester 1, Part-year visiting students only (VV1) WebCT enabled:  No Quota:  None
Location Activity Description Weeks Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
CentralLecture1-11 11:10 - 13:00
First Class Week 1, Monday, 11:10 - 13:00, Zone: Central. Forrest Hill 3.D02
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours:Minutes
Main Exam Diet S1 (December)2:00
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
This course introduces students to new techniques for analysing, integrating and querying data that may come from a variety of sources.

1 - Given a description of a situation requiring data integration students will be able to classify it as belonging to one of a number of standard scenarios.
2 - Given a description of data integration and exchange scenario and a commercial database management solution to the problem students will be able to predict erroneous or counterintuitive answers that will arise from the solution.
3 - Given a description of a data integration and exchange scenario where access to data is restricted, students will be able to design a scheme to provide approximate results to queries taking account of restricted access.
4 - Given a database query and a data integration and exchange scenario, students will know how to rewrite the query to take account of the scenario, providing approximate solutions where these are necessary.
5 - Given two database schemas students will be able to specify mappings between schemas and how to compose such mappings.
6 - Given a collection of databases, their schemas and mappings between schemas students will be able to describe how data is exchanged based on the schema mappings.
7 - Given a collection of databases, their schemas and schema mappings, students will be able to identify instances of inconsistent data.
8 - Given a collection of databases with inconsistent data, their schemas and schema mappings, students will be able to describe the results of queries on inconsistent databases.
Assessment Information
Written Examination 70
Assessed Assignments 30
Oral Presentations 0

Assessment
Three assignments, worth 10% each.

If delivered in semester 1, this course will have an option for semester 1 only visiting undergraduate students, providing assessment prior to the end of the calendar year.
Special Arrangements
None
Additional Information
Academic description Not entered
Syllabus Topics include:

* review of relational and XML data models
* examples of data integration and exchange scenarios
* dealing with incomplete information in databases
* local- and global-as-view scenarios of data integration
* query rewriting
* answering queries using views
* relational data exchange
* XML data exchange
* schema mappings; composing and inverting schema mappings
* querying inconsistent databases
* aggregation over multiple sources

Relevant QAA Computing Curriculum Sections: Not yet available
Transferable skills Not entered
Reading list Not yet available
Study Abroad Not entered
Study Pattern Lectures 20
Tutorials 0
Timetabled Laboratories 0
Non-timetabled assessed assignments 40
Private Study/Other 40
Total 100
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserDr Amos Storkey
Tel: (0131 6)51 1208
Email: A.Storkey@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Kate Weston
Tel: (0131 6)50 2701
Email: Kate.Weston@ed.ac.uk
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© Copyright 2011 The University of Edinburgh - 16 January 2012 6:16 am