Welcome to the home base for Dr. Fontenot’s Spring 2026 section of CS 3200 – Introduction to Databases – at Northeastern. Expand the sections below for additional information.
Quick Finds:
- Dr. Fontenot’s Info
- Office Hours: Tu 2:30 – 3:30 pm; Th 9:30 – 10:30 am in Meserve 353
- TA Office Hours New!
- Direct Link to CS 3200 Office Hours
- If you are joining Office Hours from off campus, you need to first connect to Northeastern’s GlobalProtect VPN. You can find more information about how to set that up from this ITS Knowledge Base page
Slide Decks and Lecture Notes:
- Note Set 01 – Introductions and Course Overview
The Relational Model of Data
- Note Set 02 – The Relational Model (Slides with Problem Solutions)
- In Class – Extra Relational Algebra Problems
- Further Reading: Available through O’Reilly (see syllabus) – Harrington. Relational Database Design and Implementation, 4th ed. Part II – Chapters 5 and 6.
- Note that this reference covers the concepts but uses different mathematical syntax for relational algebra that we use in this class.
- Ullman, et. al. Foundations of Computer Science. Online Text. Chapter 8 – The Relational Model.
- FonteNote: Writing More Complex Relational Algebra Expressions
- FonteNote: Joins in Relational Algebra (with examples)
- FonteNote: Using Notion to Write Relational Algebra Expressions in LaTeX
- Other Useful Notes:
- UCDavis Relational Model and Relational Algebra
- Data101.org Relational Algebra (only Section 2.1)
- Did you find a helpful resource on Rel Model or Rel Algebra? Let us know > here <.
Introduction to SQL
- Note Set 03 – SQL Part 1
- Download the Northwind Database
- Importing Northwind into MySQL (Video for Snow Day)
- After watching the video, make sure to try some of the queries from the example problems we did in class last Thursday.
- Note Set 04 – SQL Part 2
Homework Assignments:
Remember to submit all HW assignments to GradeScope, and when appropriate, MATCH THE QUESTIONS TO THE PROPER PAGE IN YOUR PDF!
- Mini HW 00 – Getting Set Up
- Handout
- EC Due Date: Jan 11, 2026 by 11:59 pm EST to GradeScope
- Regular Due Date: Jan 13, 2026 by 11:59 pm EST to GradeScope
- HW 01 – Relational Algebra
- Handout
- EC Due Date: Jan 25 by 11:59 pm EST to GradeScope
- Regular Due Date: Jan 27 by 11:59 pm EST to GradeScope
- HW 02 – SQL #1
- Handout
- EC Due Date: Feb 8 by 11:59 pm EST to GradeScope
- Regular Due Date: Feb 10 by 11:59 pm EST to GradeScope
- HW 03 – Handout
- EC Due Date:
- Regular Due Date:
- HW 04 – Handout
- EC Due Date:
- Regular Due Date:
- HW 05 – Handout
- EC Due Date:
- Regular Due Date:
- HW 06 – Handout
- EC Due Date:
- Regular Due Date:
FonteNotes:
- Relational Algebra Extra Notes
- YouTube Playlist of Relational Algebra Examples from lecture Notes
- These are walk throughs of the examples from Slide Deck 03 on Relational Algebra that I made last year. The examples are the same.
Exam Prep:
- Prep Materials for Exam 1
- Cheat Sheet Guidelines
- More info coming soon!
- Prep Materials for Exam 2
- More info coming soon!
Course Project:
IMPORTANT: You’ll need to consider and follow many details as you complete the project. Please (please, please) read all the instructions carefully!
Project Template GitHub Repository Link (Coming Soon)
Important Docs
Phase 1
- Coming soon
Phase 2
- Coming soon
Phase 3
- Coming soon
Extra Support
- Tutorial Videos for the Project Template Repo + Coding
- These are actually the correct videos.
- Git and GitHub –
- As a team, you’ll need to use Git and GitHub to collaborate on code. You can use a graphical tool such as GitHub desktop or the VS Code git integration. If you want to use the command line, you’ll need to set up SSH Keys
- GitHub’s Documentation for generating and setting up an SSH keypair
- Make sure you select the correct platform for your laptop using the tabs near the top of the page.
- YouTube Tutorials:
- From The Common Coder: How to Set Up an SSH Key for GitHub in 2024 (for Mac and Windows)
- From Codemify: How to setup SSH for GitHub repository
- GitHub’s Documentation for generating and setting up an SSH keypair
- As a team, you’ll need to use Git and GitHub to collaborate on code. You can use a graphical tool such as GitHub desktop or the VS Code git integration. If you want to use the command line, you’ll need to set up SSH Keys
- Python for Beginners
- TheNewBoston’s video: Python Tutorial in 30 Minutes
- If you want a slightly more comprehensive introduction, check out Python Crash Course Playlist from Net Ninja (don’t need to worry about about video #8, for the project at least)
- Flask Framework (for building REST API)
- In Flask, you can write full-featured web apps, but we will only be using the REST API features of the library.
- Dave Gray’s video: Python REST API Tutorial for Beginners
- Tech With Tim’s video: Python REST API Tutorial (you could stop around the 45:00 before he starts talking about databases)
- This video is a little older, but still very relevant!