Exam tomorrow
Dear IN3020&4020 takers,
I remind you that we have the exam tomorrow.
I am sure that most, if not all of you are well-prepared; at a minimum, you know much more about how database engines work inside than in January.
I want to repeat a couple of tips about the exam:
1. The exam is hard. But many of you will get As and Bs: in previous years the threshold for A was about 75/100 or even less. So, do not be frustrated if you could not finish all of the problems. This is normal.
2. Time is precious during the exam. So, read all the questions first and then begin solving those that you know how to solve easily, and move to harder ones only after that.
3. Time is precious. So, do not write in Inspera what is not asked (you are also risking to write something wrong, which may decrease your mark for this question). Also, all of the questions can be answered perfectly in few lines; so, if your answer is getting, for example, over a page long, it is maybe the time to stop writing and think.
4. Partial solutions count. So if you have some ideas but do not know how to fully solve a question, write your ideas.
5. We evaluate your knowledge of databases, nothing else. So, your English skills are not evaluated, you should be just understandable. Your arithmetic abilities are also not evaluated (and so you do not have access to a calculator); so, for example, if you correctly understood that the answer is the sum of 2 and 3, then answers ‘5’, '2 + 3 = 6' and just '2 + 3' will all be considered correct (but just 6 will not, sorry: we need an evidence that you know what to do).
6. All answer boxes in Inspera are text-only. Formatting is not important, you should be just understandable. For example, if you need to write a RA operation, invent your notation; J_(Att1 = 5) would work perfectly for the theta-join with Att1 = 5 condition. However, if you invent your own notation it is highly recommended to introduce it; in this case, you should say ‘J_C is my notation for the theta-join with condition C’.
7. You have access to all the slides (you have a link to the file), where you can search with Ctrl+F, go to a page by its number (that you can see in the first page), etc. Unfortunately, I did not manage to organise an Inspera test for all of you (I tried, but the responsible people are not very responsive). However, getting to the all-slides file is really easy in Inspera: at any point of the exam, there is a button called `IN3020&4020 2025 Lecture Slides' at the bottom of the Inspera window.
8. I will be there for the beginning of the exam, and you can ask me questions about the content. We tried our best to avoid typos and ambiguities. In any case, the marker will be on your side: if you give a solution that fits a possible reading (maybe, not an intended reading), you get a full mark.
9. I am happy to answer your questions by email and Astro-Discourse until 10pm tonight. Not later, sorry.
Good luck!
Egor