need help with a project

Individual Project Assignment● A Paper – 4 to 8 pages in length
● Double Spaced
● Your name must appear in the header
● Page numbers must appear in the
footer
● You are not following any document
guidelines
● Must include a table or embedded
spread sheet as comparison grid
What is this?
● You will be comparing and contrasting
4 different DBMS systems. Three I
specify and one you choose.
● You will need to explain what type of
database system each is.
● You will need to specify what it is best
for and why.
● You will need to express what it is NOT
best at
The DBMS to use
● The databases you will need to write
about
◦ Oracle
◦ MySQL
◦ Apache CouchDB
◦ Something you pick – Not Microsoft
Access
Other Rules
● It is not required that you site your
sources but it is recommended to add
credibility.
● You MUST make a recommendation at
the end of the paper and justify your
recommendation. Your recommendation
will consist of which ONE database
management system you think is best.
● There are no wrong answers. This is
about your thoughts and research
Your Motivation
I am the owner of a small start up company that has an idea
for a new product. There are other products out there that do
this but we think our solution is better and will sell. Our
investors feel the same way. We already have some potential
buyers based on our prototypes.
● Our product is a web based application for managing school
cafeterias.
● The application can work at individual schools and can be
licensed by individual schools or a district and utilized by all
schools in the district because it is web based.
● We are the creators of the application and will maintain it in
the “Cloud”. Our customers will not need to worry about
buying, maintaining, or interfacing directly with the database
because it is hidden from them behind our application.
● You are picking the DBMS, not a separate application. That is
what we are building and we need something to manage all
the data involved.
●
Your Motivation, Continued
● The application will need to
◦ track what is for lunch
◦ who bought lunch
◦ how much money is in a account
◦ allow parents to add money to the account over the web
◦ Must respond very fast so as not to slow down the lunch line.
◦ Track who is on free and reduced lunches and apply the
appropriate rates
◦ Display the upcoming menus and prices
◦ Track what each student bought and allow parents to see.
◦ Be able to track food restrictions and dietary needs.
◦ Allow for quick data entry of possibly thousands of students
◦ Work with multiple schools at the same time.
Other Considerations
● You do not need to design this
database
● You only need to make an intelligent
DBMS recommendation based on the
application described and the potential
customers.
● You do not need to worry about
developer knowledge or expertise.
Architectural Diagram
Our Cloud
DBMS
School
Application
School
School
Expectations
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I am expecting an explanation of what each database is. For example is it relational. Is it a DBMS versus
just a DB? What advantages and disadvantages does each database have in relationship to the others?
Yes this would be an explanation of the features of that particular database. Does one database have
features unique to it that would be an advantage over the others for this particular problem? If it does, is
that feature or features enough for you to recommend its use over the others. What are the factors that
you are using to recommend this particular database over the others.
I want you to determine what factors you think are important. I want you to explain why you think
these factors are important in the context of the problem. I want you to relate these factors to
specific features of a specific DBMS that you recommend. Simply providing a bulleted list of
features is not enough.
There are two sides to this problem. First you need to determine or create criteria specific to the outlined
problem that you think are important considerations when evaluating the different databases. Second
you need to determine, based on research of the different features of each database system if they will
satisfy the criteria. Lastly you will need to choose one DBMS and state why you chose it. All four DBMS
systems may satisfy your criteria, but you will need to pick one and justify the answer.
Ultimately I am looking for some thoughtful consideration on your part as to the problem presented and
how it should be solved. I am interested in your research as to the features of each DBMS and how they
may differ from one another. What sets them apart? I am interested in the journey you take and your
discoveries more than the final outcome. That is why I state there is no wrong answer to your
recommendation. I want you to apply some of what you learned in the first three chapters of the book to
this problem.
A chart/table representing your criteria and ranking that compares the different DBMSs is required as
part of the final evaluation. The chart should reflect the criteria you used to evaluate and compare the
different DBMSs. It should not be a list of random features not used in your evaluation.
Grading
● The assignment is worth 35 points.
● You are expected to do your own work.
● Each database review will be worth 5 points.
(4*5 = 20 points total)
◦ Each database review will be evaluated based on
thoughtfulness and listing of features, benefits, and
shortcomings.
● Final conclusion and recommendations will be
worth 10 points. A comparison grid of
features considered should be part of this
conclusion and will be worth 5 points. Your
final recommendation and reasoning will be
evaluated as part of this grade.