The MBC information booklet - RMIT University

CHAPTER 3 Advanced Databases
3.1 Introduction
Chapter 3: Advanced Databases
Most computer users have some knowledge of databases, in particular ofthe relational
database systems that have dominated during the last two decades. But database
technology and the kinds of data being stored are changing rapidly. The courses in the
Database Systems cluster concern the most significant kinds of database.
COSC2306 Algorithms For Efficient Data Engineering presents state-of-the-art data
structures and algorithms for data representation and manipulation, extending the material
presented in typical advanced algorithms courses.
Relational database technology is being extended in many ways: by addition of recursion;
by introduction of object-oriented concepts; by aggregation of data into warehouses; and
by use of distributed resources. Deductive and object-relational databases are covered in
ISYS1072 Deductive and Object-Relational Databases. Data mining and technologies for
making use of vast databases are covered in COSC2110 Data Warehousing and Data
Mining.
ISYS1065 File Structures and Database Systems concerns the technology underlying
relational database systems: the algorithms and data structures used to provide efficient
access to large quantities of data.
COSC1168 Internet and Intranet Document Engineering covers ways of creating, filing,
finding and reading documents that are not based on consuming paper. Such documents
need to be able to be published on the Web.
In recent years, retrieval systems for non-traditional data have grown from niche
applications to an essential commercial technology. The best-known examples of such
systems are the search engines deployed on the internet, which are examples of
information retrieval systems. The underlying principles are quite different to those of
conventional databases systems, and they deal with vast volumes of data, rely on complex
heuristics to identify matches to queries, yet provide answers in a fraction of a second.
They are an excellent case-study of high-performance algorithms in practice.
Text and multimedia databases and the principles of information retrieval are covered in
ISYS1078 Multimedia Information Retrieval. The principles and algorithms underlying the
implementation of search engines are covered in COSC2109 Search Engines, including
indexing techniques, text compression, and web query evaluation.
Pursuant to demand, the following courses are available for students who wish to choose
this cluster. The courses are:
• COSC2306—Algorithms for Efficient Data Engineering (see page 18)
• COSC2111—Data Warehousing and Data Mining (see page 18)
• ISYS1072—Deductive and Object-Relational Databases (see page 19)
• ISYS1065—File Structures and Database Systems (see page 20)
• COSC1168—Internet and Intranet Document Engineering (see page 20)
• ISYS1078—Multimedia Information Retrieval (see page 20)
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