Introduction to Databases Video Lectures by Stanford Engineering

josh — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 22:25:58 +0000

Really excellent introduction to databases, taught entirely through video lectures. This is a complete course and includes quizzes, homework, and assignments.

I'm working my way through the classes one-by-one and really like how it all comes together. The pace is fast and there's not a lot of fluff. Videos are clear and the presenter is obviously very knowledgable.

I'm a developer with a good grasp on database construction and management but not a lot of experience. I felt like this was just the right starting point and just enough overlap with what I know to make me feel comfortable.

Here is the lecture list:

INTRODUCTION
Introduction to the course (14 min)

RELATIONAL DATABASES
The relational model (9 min)
Querying relational databases (6 min)

XML DATA
Well-formed XML (13 min)
DTDs, IDs & IDREFs (18 min)
XML Schema (13 min) [I'm here as of this posting]

RELATIONAL ALGEBRA
Prerequisite: Relational Databases
Select, project, join (18 min)
Set operators, renaming, notation (20 min)

SQL
Prerequisite: Relational Databases; Recommended: Relational Algebra
Introduction to SQL (5 min)
Basic SELECT statement (10 min)
Table variables and set operators (11 min)
Subqueries in WHERE clause (20 min)
Subqueries in FROM and SELECT (8 min)
The JOIN family of operators (25 min)
Aggregation (25 min)
NULL values (6 min)
Data modification statements (15 min)

RELATIONAL DESIGN THEORY
Prerequisite: Relational Algebra
Relational design overview (16 min)
Functional dependencies (28 min)
Boyce-Codd normal form (23 min)
Multivalued dependencies, 4th normal form (24 min)
Shortcomings of BCNF/4NF (12 min)

QUERYING XML
Prerequisite: XML Data
XPath introduction (10 min)
XPath demo (22 min)
XQuery introduction (5 min)
XQuery demo (16 min)
XSLT (23 min)

UNIFIED MODELING LANGUAGE (UML)
Prerequisite: Relational Databases
UML data modeling (25 min)
UML to relations (28 min)

INDEXES
Prerequisite: SQL
Indexes (14 min)

CONSTRAINTS AND TRIGGERS
Prerequisite: SQL
Motivation and overview (13 min)
Constraints of several types (26 min)
Referential integrity (22 min)
Triggers introduction (15 min)
Triggers demo (part 1) (30 min)
Triggers demo (part 2) (13 min)

TRANSACTIONS
Prerequisite: SQL
Introduction to transactions (14 min)
Transaction properties (13 min)
Isolation levels (18 min)

VIEWS
Prerequisites: SQL, Constraints And Triggers
Defining and using views (14 min)
View modifications - introduction (9 min)
View modifications using triggers (33 min)
Automatic view modifications (23 min)
Materialized views (16 min)

AUTHORIZATION
Prerequisites: SQL, Views
Authorization (11 min)

RECURSION IN SQL
Prerequisite: SQL
Basic recursive WITH statement - introduction (12 min)
Basic recursive WITH statement - demo (30 min)
Nonlinear and mutual recursion (21 min)

ON-LINE ANALYTICAL PROCESSING (OLAP)
Prerequisite: SQL
Introduction to OLAP (18 min)
OLAP demo (27 min)

NOSQL SYSTEMS
Prerequisite: SQL
NoSQL Motivation (20 min)
NoSQL Overview (27 min)

Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby

josh — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 21:34:01 +0000

A very strange, funny, and helpful online book about learning Ruby. It took several pages (and an explanation from a friend) before I realized that this is exactly what it appears: a strange, funny, and helpful book that does a great job of teaching you Ruby. The comics (yes, comics) are funny and all over the place. An approach like this really makes learning Ruby fun!

Getting Started with Ruby on Rails [rubyonrails.org]

josh — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 23:39:23 +0000

I was recommended to this page by a friend who was also trying to learn Ruby on Rails. This is a great first exercise for those looking to get their hands dirty and jump right in. It talks a bit about what Rails, what MVC is all about, and then drops you right into the exercise.

The one problem here is that it assumes you've already got Ruby installed and running. If you're on a Mac, Nettuts has a great guide using RVM (Ruby version manager).

Spam creator - Spammimic

gsadmin — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 04:37:54 +0000

Really interesting tool that turns text into spam and back into text again. It took:

An interactive site for hard science learning aids, links, and class notes

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Computer Security and Industrial Cryptography publications

gsadmin — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 04:33:39 +0000

All COSIC publications from 1981 until now, organized by date. There is also a handy search page.

COSIC research goal "is to create a secure electronic equivalent for interactions in the physical world such as confidentiality, signatures, identification, anonymity, payment and elections." COSIC is a part of Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, a Belgian University that's been around for almost 600 years.

Beginner Object-Oriented Programming in PHP

josh — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 00:23:10 +0000

I'm sure there will be plenty of people that disagree but I found object-oriented programming one of the hardest concepts to understand when I get started writing code. I could never come up with a reason to use it so I kind of avoided I. The problem, of course, is that there was no reason to use objects in the small projects I was creating. Also, objects come from good software design, something I couldn't wrap my head for a long time.

Nettuts should be pretty familiar to anyone who is learning how to program on the web. This particular tutorial is great and starts form the very beginning by defining a class and an object and what the differences are.

This is a good place to start for anyone trying to figure out this OOP stuff, particularly folks who are already familiar with PHP.

Complete PHP Tutorial from W3 Schools

josh — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 06:17:44 +0000

W3 Schools has definitely helped me through some tough times. This is a good place to start and not a bad reference if you need to brush up on a few key techniques. Is this the best place to learn PHP? I'm not so sure. The lessons are good but not as exhaustive as I'd like.

PHP is a very powerful language and understanding the basics is very important. This W3 lesson gets you part of the way there but you'll need more in-depth training if you want to make anything of use.

A Beginner's Guide to Python from Python.org

josh — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 04:32:53 +0000

This is basically a landing page for those new to programming in general and to Python as well. Sections are:

Getting Python
Learning Python
Finding help
Beginner's guides
Quizzes
How to contribute

Free Online Python Book - "Learn Python the Hard Way"

josh — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 04:20:27 +0000

I gave this book a try when it was first being written a couple years back and really liked the straight-forward style it had. No BS, no fluff, just exactly what you needed to know. Here's what the author has to say about learning the hard way:

LPTHW emphasizes precision, attention to detail, and persistence by requiring you to type each exercise (no copy-paste!) and make it run, as well as to read up on outside topics and to return to exercises and ideas that you don't understand, and understand them.

Don't be scared; you'll be glad you learned the hard way.

Scientific mind map software (free)

josh — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 05:24:45 +0000

It's time for me to come clean: I'm a total mindmap junkie. Someone turned me on to the phenomenon a few years ago and it didn't quite click but in the last year, I've been unstoppable. I find it to be the easiest way to visaulize a topic from top to bottom and helps me to construct a complete picture of any topic. You can use them like a to-do like or you can plan out an entire master's thesis.

I use Mind Node for Mac but tried this out and saw the potential for folks in the research world. Give it a try and comment below if you found it useful for your studies, writing, or otherwise.

Search and upload theses and dissertations

josh — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 04:51:13 +0000

OpenThesis is a place to upload your thesis for everyone else to read and use. Looks like a great resource for students who need a little help getting through the hardest part of a grad degree. From the site:

OpenThesis is a free repository of theses, dissertations, and other academic documents, coupled with powerful search, organization, and collaboration tools.

Zend on PHP For the Absolute Beginner

josh — Fri, 06 May 2011 14:23:05 +0000

This is, in my opinion, the place place to start if you want to learn PHP. The tone is light, the information is great, the examples are very helpful, and it covers a wide swath of information. This is the link that got me started in PHP and I refer back every once in a while for reminders on certain things.

Free Online Python eBook - Dive Into Python

josh — Fri, 06 May 2011 02:07:07 +0000

I'm surprised this one is offered online for free. The publisher is the same one that wrote Pro Drupal Development, a book that is credited with at least part of the construction of this site!

You can download the book is several different formats - PDF, HTML, Word, XML (yikes) - and in 6 other languages besides English. It calls itself a "book for experienced programmers" so probably not the best place to start if you have no experience writing code.

The Official Python Tutorial from Python.org

josh — Fri, 06 May 2011 02:00:48 +0000

This is, obviously, a great place to start if you're looking to learn the Python language... straight from the source!

This tutorial walks you through all of the following and more:

Set up and installation
Using the Python Interpreter
Control flow tools
Data Structures
Modules
I/O
Errors, exceptions
Classes
The Standard Library

Online Ruby Programming Quizzes

josh — Fri, 06 May 2011 01:58:03 +0000

An archive of 156 (as of this posting) different questions that can be answered in the Ruby programming language. It sounds like new quizzes are added weekly and you can sign up for an email update.

Introduction to Programming in Java (free Java ebook)

josh — Thu, 05 May 2011 23:44:56 +0000

Can't beat a freee Java ebook from Princeton! This book was written with multiple disciplines in mind and provides a really thorough overview of the language. From the site:

This textbook is an interdisciplinary approach to the traditional CS1 curriculum. We teach all of the classic elements of programming, using an "objects-in-the-middle" approach that emphasizes data abstraction.

How to Think Like a Computer Scientist (free Java ebook)

josh — Thu, 05 May 2011 23:36:10 +0000

A 300 page ebook on how to think like a computer scientist using the Java language. The philosophy behind is, generally:

Vocabulary is important
Learn the algorithm and know how to debug
Some concepts are harder than others
Less code is better code (this is probably debatable)

The book covers object-oriented programming and data structures and so much more! Very complete resources for those getting started.

Free Java ebook: Thinking in Java

josh — Thu, 05 May 2011 23:28:15 +0000

Nice little Java training manual by Bruce Eckel for those just getting started with the language. It's amazing that someone would put so much effort into a free resource like this so you owe it to him to download it and use it!

With resources like these out there, why are textbooks still so expensive?

Hackety Hack! - Learn Programming with Ruby

josh — Thu, 05 May 2011 23:20:21 +0000

A great little application you can use to learn programming with the Ruby language. I haven't downloaded it myself but Read Write Web wrote a piece on them so that means something, right? From their site:

"Hackety Hack will teach you the absolute basics of programming from the ground up. No previous programming experience is needed!.. you'll learn the Ruby programming language Ruby is used for all kinds of programs, including desktop applications and websites."

Give it a try and let us know what you think!

How to be a Programmer (personal essay)

josh — Thu, 05 May 2011 23:00:28 +0000

An important and famous essay on how, generally, to be a good programmer. I read this all the way through and was struck by how logically he broke each section down. As he says in the essay, it's a very subjective account but a really good read for anyone looking to join the industry. It might be a bit boring for the typical undergrad but those who are switching careers post-college will find a lot of this information important.

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