Information of Value Before the Semester Starts

Get the textbook: Jason Price; Oracle Database 11g SQL; Oracle Press/Osborne Press/McGrawHill; ISBN: 978-0-07-149850-0.

Email address: Verify that the email address you have with CCSF is one that you read regularly. This is how you will be contacted for info re this class.

WaitList: This class has a waitlist set up. If the class is full when you try to enroll, add yourself to the waitlist. Waitlisted students will be added by the system if other students drop during the preregistration period. Refer to this Link for information on waitlists. I generally add all students on the waitlist. If you are on that waitlist, I will contact you at the start of the semester to see if you still want the class. Other requests for AddCodes will be handled after the waitlisted people.

NoShow Policy If you do not log into the Insight page for this class by Thursday evening of the first week of class, I will consider you a NoShow and may remove you from the class list. Email me by that date if this is a problem and you want to continue in the class.

Orientation I plan to offer a brief orientation in the software used for this class on the first Saturday of the semester. This is not an Insight orientation ; it will focus on T-SQL. I will post a set of notes on Insight and will post more information about the orientation.

Plan: When are you going to do the work for this class?
Organization Ideas This is a 3 unit class so you need to set aside a period of time to work on the class material on at least two days during the week. This is not a "self-paced" class. There will be weekly readings and assignments will be due almost every week.

Software: We are using Oracle 11g. The easiest way to do the assignments for this class is to use the Oracle 11g system as provided by CCSF.

Class Policy SPRING 2010 Class Policy statement

The midterm and final exam are in-person exams to be held on the Phelan campus on Saturday March 13 and May 22.

On the First Day or Two of Class, You Need to Do the Following

Log into the class Insight web site. Please click on this Orientation Link for info on Insight, the Orientation session, and issues for the first weeks of class.

General Preparation for Classes

You can visit http://www.ccsf.edu/Departments/Distance_Education/students.htm to prepare for learning online.

Students who need academic accommodations should request them from the Disabled Students Programs and Services (DSPS) located in the Rosenberg Library,Room 323 on the Ocean Campus. Telephone: 415-452-5481 (V) 415-452-5451 (TDD). DSPS is the campus office responsible for verifying disability-related need for academic accommodations, assessing that need, and planning accommodations in cooperation with students and instructors as needed and consistent with course requirements.

General Information for CS 151A

This is a first semester course in the use of Oracle SQL. This class focuses on the standard non-procedural SQL access to data in Oracle databases.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why learn Oracle?
A: Oracle has been a major player in the database field for many years. Many companies use Oracle because it is designed to handle multi-user system with a high degree of security. Oracle keeps developing and improving their database systems while maintaining backwards compatibility.

Q: Why learn SQL?
A: Most companies store their data on a database. If you are going to work with computer systems you will be working with databases. SQL is the standard language for working with a database. Using SQL is a much different approach to accessing data than the traditional programming approach. The different companies that produce database systems have different versions of SQL. It is helpful to know more than one version so that you start to see how a "standardized language" varies by vendor.

Q: What background do I need for this class?
A: There is no specific prerequisite for this class but I do assume that you have some basic computer experience.

Q: What if I have already taken another SQL class or a database programming class? Is this worth my time?
A: That is a bit harder to answer in general. I have found that many students need to learn SQL at least twice to really understand it. Often you do not fully understand the initial concepts until the end of the semester. And with Oracle SQL we have a chance to look at some fairly complex SQL concepts such as the analytical functions, hierarchical queries, user-defined-types in tables, XML data and functions.

Q: What about writing procedures in Oracle?
A: If you want to learn Oracle? programming concepts usinf PL/SQL, the class you want is CS 151P.

Q: Which version of Oracle are we using?
A: Currently we are using Oracle 11g.