The goal of the course project is to have you further explore models
and/or methods of database and information systems in the context
of your research
interests. This can be done in many ways.
The project topic is of your choosing, but must be approved in
advance by the course instructor.
Getting a project idea.
Ideally, your own research will generate a project idea. Other
places to look include recent proceedings of the major data management
conferences. Several such conferences are listed below. You will
see that even for "database conferences", the presentations are not limited to
papers on classic databases and their issues.
For each example, the project should
include an algorithm implementation and evaluation, a simulation and
evaluation or a theoretical analysis, which may be a substantial
comparative analysis.
Examine the state of the art for one of the tasks of a
relational
database system. Some possibilities:
query optimization algorithms for relational queries (or SQL in
particular).
indexing structures for very large data bases
transaction management for highly distributed database systems
Examine the state of the art for one of the tasks of an
XML-based information system. Some possibilities:
query optimization algorithms for XML queries (XQuery or
some other)
indexing structures for very large XML databases
specifying and maintaining integrity constraints in XML
databases, including when XML is used for data exchange.
Explore the use of probabilitic models in one domain, for example:
Probabilistic XML
Probabilistic models of information retrieval of text
documents
Examine the state of the art and research issues for cluster
architectures for large database or information retrieval
systems, including issues such as
workload distribution
memory management
Explore the role of caching (Web caching, memory caching) in
query evaluation for database and/or information retrieval
queries. What is current practice and what are the
research issues?
Implement an application that requires database support with
unusual requirements that add some complexity to either the conceptual
model for the database or the implementation. The unusual
requirements may be in functionality,
constraint
maintenance, reliability or user interface. Implement the
user interface, the application interface to the database and the
database. The user interface
may be minimalist if the focus of the project is elsewhere. The
application should be something
in which you are interested and for which you can obtain or generate a
reasonable set of interactions and data for testing. The
database may be relational or in XML.
Database techniques and systems exist for special kinds of data,
for example spatial (geometric)
data and streaming data.
There are also customized information retrieval techniques for
special kinds of data, for example music and images. Your project
may focus on techniques for a special kind of data.
(Are you generating special data in your research?).
Explore methods for insuring privacy in database or information
systems. Limit yourself to a certain kind of system and one
or two aspects of privacy: e.g. allowing various levels of
privacy to users of a database or methods of protecting information
while reporting aggregate or summary information.
Requirements
Each individual must:
1. By 5pm on Friday, Nov
7, 2008 send email to Professor LaPaugh containing a
one-paragraph description of your project.
2. During the week of Dec.
1, 2008 meet with Professor LaPaugh for 15-20 minutes to
discuss project progress and issues.
3. Submit by 5pm Tues.
Jan 13, 2009 (Dean's date) a report that describes your
project. This must include the goals of the project, your methodology
and the results. If it is an application implementation, you
need to describe the application, your design requirements, the major
implementation decisions, and your assessment of the result. If it is
an experimental algorithm study, you need to describe what was
implemented, the major implementation decisions, how you designed the
experiments, and the experimental results. If it is a theoretical
study, you need to describe the problem, review what was known about
the problem before your analysis, and give the details and the results
of your theoretical analysis. For any project that involves
programming, all source
code you write should be in an appendix or made accessible on the Web.
4. After the project report is submitted and before 5pm Mon. Jan. 19, 2009 each
student must meet with Professor LaPaugh for a project demonstration
(where applicable) and discussion.
Projects will be graded on thoroughness and depth of analysis.
Difficulty will be taken into consideration. Keep in mind that
evaluation is an important part of any project. Be clear on the goals
of your project and how you demonstrate or measure success.
A.S. LaPaugh Tue Oct 21 12:58:56 EDT 2008
