Course Layout

1. Scheduled Activities

There are five kinds of activities: lectures, quizzes, labs, tutorials and seminars.

1.1 Lectures

All Lectures are pre-recorded. The live lectures scheduled in the course calendar will cover the same concepts but through more interactive seminars, group activities, discussions and non-graded quiz solving (the live lectures are not going to be recorded - participation is recommended but not necessary). Videos, lecture notes and reading instructions are presented under Modules.

1.2 Quizzes

There are both graded and practice quizzes, which can all be found both under Quizzes and under Modules. The graded quizzes are part of the LAB1 sub-course. Practice quizzes are not mandatory but can be used as practice for graded quizzes and the final examination. 

1.3 Labs

There are a number of labs on Zoom, which are not mandatory. The purpose of the labs is to complement the lectures with hands-on examples and extra material. There is also a live Q&A and questions you have on database design + system topics. Labs are not intended to offer support on the project.

Zoom: https://kth-se.zoom.us/j/62040278788

1.4 Seminars

There is a mandatory project, which is part of the LAB1 sub-course and is described further under Project. The project is split into four tasks, each of which is to be presented at a seminar. The first three project tasks, and the first three seminars, are mandatory. The fourth project task, and the fourth seminar, is optional, and serves only to improve the grade. The fifth seminar, in January, is an opportunity to re-submit seminars you did not pass or to improve your score for one or more seminars. You can get scores for all tasks, both mandatory and optional, also at the fifth seminar.

1.5 Tutorials

Tutorials are opportunities to get help with the project tasks (not quizzes). The main purpose is to give time for questions concerning the project, but there might also be short presentations and/or exercises, giving hints on the project work. Tutorials are not mandatory. Tutorials are scheduled on place in Kista, but it's also possible to ask questions over zoom, presentations are however not sent over zoom. The queuing system stay a while is used to manage the queue for asking questions. Sign up there, and if you're in zoom enter the link to your zoom room in the field Location.

2. How to Get Help

Before the course starts you will be automatically enrolled to the IV1351 Piazza Forum Links to an external site.. This is the official forum of the course for all discussions, questions and answers. If you are not enrolled after the course starts please notify the teachers via email.

You can ask questions at labs, tutorials and seminars, which are described above, and also post questions in Piazza Links to an external site.. Don't send direct emails to teachers, instead post questions in Piazza Links to an external site., since then all students can be helped by the answers. You're also encouraged to write in Piazza about problems you encountered and have already solved. Your solutions to the problems you faced will most likely be of help to other students.

Mind that posts can be (optionally) anonymous to peer students in Piazza. Only the Instructors are able to see the author of every post.

3. Literature

Apart from provided material we recommended reading (either of) the following books for deeper understanding :

• [Main] Fundamentals of Database Systems (7th Edition recommended, 6th edition is also fine) by Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe.
• [Optional] Database System Concepts (7th Edition) by Silberschatz Abraham, Henry Korth, Sudarshan S.

4. Diagram Editors and Programming IDEs

Recommended diagram editors and programming IDEs are listed on the page Software.

4.1 PostgreSQL and IMDb

Instructions for installing PostgreSQL and IMDb are listed on the page PostgreSQL and IMDb.

5. Examination and Grading

The examination consists of the following modules:

• Graded Quizzes and Project (LAB1, 4.5 credits, Grading scale: A-F ) - max 60P
• Final exam (TEN1, 3 credits, Grading scale: A-F) - max 50P

To pass the course and get a final grade it is required to pass all five quizzes, the project and the final exam. Below is more information about each examination.

5.1 Quizzes

Each quiz gives max 4p, which makes a total of 20p for the five quizzes. You are given two attempts for each quiz (highest score wins). You need 2p to pass. In case you fail both attempts there will be an equivalent pass-only (2p) quiz at the end of the course. Note that you must pass (2p) each individual quiz.  For each quiz you do not pass, you must take the corresponding pass-only quiz at the end of the course.

5.2 Project

The project has four tasks. Each task gives max 10p, and is divided into two parts giving 5p each. The first three tasks have a mandatory part (5p) and a higher grade part (5p). The fourth task has two higher grade parts worth 5p each. To pass the project all mandatory tasks must be passed. The higher grade tasks are optional, and contribute to the final grade as specified in 5.4. No partial score is given, either a part of a task is accepted and gives five points, or it isn't accepted and does not give any points. 

5.3 Final Exam

The exam gives max 50p, you need 25p to pass. If you fail the exam you have to retake it at the next scheduled occasion. The exam is given two times per year, see schema for next occasion. You can find more information about the final exam at the Final Exam page.

Note that the exam will be a paper/physical exam starting in 2023.

5.4 Final Grade

When all examinations are passed, the final grade is calculated as follows:

total = Graded Quizzes (max 20P)  + Project (max 40P) + Exam (max 50P) = max 110P

where A: (total>=90) , B: (total>=80) , C:(total>=70), D:(total>=55), E:(total>=50),  F:(total<50). 

The grade that is calculated according to the formula above will be given for all course examinations (LAB1, TEN1, Final Grade).

Rounding up: Grades are always rounded up if the final grade is less than 1 point below a higher score (e.g., 89.1 would round up to 90 to get to A)

6. Disability

If you have a disability, you can get support through Funka, KTH's coordinator for students with disabilities, see https://www.kth.se/student/stod/studier/funktionsnedsattning. In addition, if you have special needs that do not concern the written exam, inform the course coordinator and show the certificate from Funka.

Support actions under code R (i.e. adaptations relating to space, time and physical circumstances) are generally granted by the examiner.

Support actions under code P (educational adaptation) can be granted or rejected by the examiner after you have applied in accordance with KTH's rules. Normally, support efforts under code P are also granted.

7. Teachers

• All course-related questions should be asked in Piazza Links to an external site., so that all participants can see the answer. Furthermore, the Lab sessions will also offer live Q&A via the help of the course Teaching Assistants. However, if and only if the question contains private information you can contact the teachers directly:
  • Leif Lindbäck, Examiner, Course responsible, Teacher
    email: leifl@kth.se
    
  • Paris Carbone, Course responsible, Teacher
    email: parisc@kth.se
  • Niharika Gauraha, Teacher
    email: niharika@kth.se