A Novel Course in Data Systems with Minimal Prerequisites
Thomas C. Bressoud, Gavin Thomas · 2019
The need for understanding data systems, from the structure and constraints of data models to the client-server mechanisms for acquiring and curating data, includes not just computer science students, but extends to data science students and students in a wide range of interdisciplinary programs. In this paper we describe the design and implementation of a second course in computer science, whose data-centric focus emphasizes structural models of data and the skills involved in acquiring and transforming data into forms amenable for analysis. We argue that, from a user-not-designer perspective, these topics need not wait for an upper-level database course, but to achieve sufficient depth, an introductory computer science course is appropriate and sufficient as a prerequisite.