Cohort 23 CS Online Journal

(Mobile format, bear with me!) The three most important things that I've learned in this course are: - Understanding how ER diagrams work, how to create one from a client's story, and how to translate them into a database of choice. How to use a DBMS is good, but the fundamentals of translating a story into an ER diagram can apply to many more situations. - Knowing different types of DBMS and their uses. Traditional (transactional) databases like MySQL are good for managing in-house data for a moderately small business or similar. NoSQL databases that manage big data like MongoDB are useful for managing high volumes of it in a timely manner. Database design is dependent on what DBMS is used. - Gaining experience with MySQL. MySQL is a traditional database that uses the SQL language to create queries. While simple to begin with, it can become much more complex with nested queries. I would want to practice more with nested queries because it is still confusing for me.

Learning Journal Week 7      MongoDB and MySQL are two types of database - MongoDB is a document database that utilizes NoSQL practices, while MySQL is a relational database that uses tables. They are similar in that they can both store large amounts of data and retrieve them reliably, if created correctly. Their main difference is what kind of data is stored in them - MySQL databases are better at handling transactional data, while MongoDB databases can manage big data more efficiently than traditional SQL databases like MySQL.       If I were to use a database for a project, I would most likely use MySQL for it. I do not believe I need any data properties that are exclusive to big data, so having more control over the database's environment using MySQL would be ideal.       If I were to create a different project for some sort of social network, I would use MongoDB over MySQL. Social network data tends to have big data properties,...

Week 6 Learning Journal      This week, I learned a lot more about how JDBC works and how to connect a java program to a MYSQL database. This week's group project was easy to understand, and while I had some difficulty with a few implementations, my teammates were able to figure out what went wrong and explained to me what to do instead. Thanks team!

Use the Index, Luke      This title references the website:   Use the index, Luke      A "slow index" in this case is an index range scan that is looking through a majority of an index, causing it to access tables many times more than what could be necessary. One solution to this problem is to write better `where` clauses for search queries. The author also mentions specific "anti-patterns" to avoid, which include mixing data types (like using numbers exclusively in a string), math in search queries, and using date types incorrectly.

CST363 Learning Journal - Week 4 In this course, I remembered a few things from the last time I took an intro to database systems course. I wish I still had the textbook from that class, I feel like it would have helped me with my studies.  I've learned how query data from a database, and how to present it to the user with conditions. The different types of joins I had trouble with previously, but now I know how to use each one best. I've used ER diagrams to visualize the relationships in a database. I am more confident about reading ER diagrams, and understanding what they convey for a database. I remember the normal form rules from a previous class, and the zybooks textbook supplements this. There are a few questions I still have about databases: I still need guidance on how to implement SQL into Java. Many of my implementations are researched from the Internet. I need to research more about MySQL Workbench 8.0, there are some issues that occur with large databases that I nee...

Went back on previous CS courses and updated their titles to their corresponding weeks, rather than the total week count of the program. The breaks in-between jumbled my numbers too much! CST363 Week 3 - Learning Journal What is an SQL view.  How is it similar to a table? In what ways is it different (think about primary keys,  insert, update, delete operations) ? SQL views are a bit like subclasses in Java, where they are mainly used to present only specific data to the user. Views can be created to restrict what information a user queries from a database, but without modifying any existing tables in the database. Views can also be used as a shorthand for complex queries, so they are not written over and over when they are needed.   Operating on views can be tricky, because restricting what data is available can have undesirable side effects. For example, inserting a primary key that exists in the base table but not the view itself will be prevented because the view wi...

 CST363 Week 2 Learning Journal SQL has the flexibility to join tables on any column(s) using any predicate (=, >, < ). Most of the time the join will use equality between a primary and foreign key. Think of example where joining on something other than keys would be needed.  Write the query both as an English sentence and in SQL. If you can't think of your own example, search the textbook or internet for an example. Compare the prices between a digital product and a physical product. create table digi_product (key varchar(20), price varchar(15), name varchar(20), provider varchar(20), size numeric(10,2) primary key (key) ); create table phys_product  (key varchar(20), price varchar(15), name varchar(20), store_location varchar(20) shipping numeric(10,2) primary key (key) ); What is your opinion of SQL as a language?  Do you think it is easy to learn and use?  When translating from an English question to SQL, what k...