CS 5614 Homework #8

(the fun homework)

Date Assigned: November 19, 1999
Date Due: December 8, 1999, in class, before class starts

(40 points) Browse through the DBLP web site. Suggest possible reasons why the designer(s) did not use a DBMS to implement this facility (For more info, read the FAQ). It's after all a data management and retrieval operation, right? So why not use a powerful transaction processing facility? Highest points will be awarded to the most insightful solution. Do not write more than four sentences.
(60 points) Mine the web and report the web pages of "People who are interested in Sherlock Holmes stories for the English and not for the Mysteries". You either have to find some web search engine that allows you to be so expressive and do some nifty pre-processing yourself. In any case, report the sites that you find, your experiences and what must/can be done to improve web searches. Even if you found nothing, an insightful summary/report on why you didn't find anything will fetch full points. Do not write more than one page.

FAQ: The first question looks like speculation to me and the second appears to be a wild-goose chase. What's the idea?

Answer: The idea of the first is to set you critically thinking on how database systems are used in the real world. You have to realize whether what you have learnt in this course scales up to certain applications, or what if any, are the other issues involved. The idea of the second question is to direct you towards thinking about the future generation of database systems.

FAQ: The second looks more like an information retrieval problem. Why do we cover it in the database course?

Answer: This question follows immediately from our discussions in class on semi-structured databases and web data management systems. The distinctions between DB and IR are becoming fuzzy and in any case, we hope it sets you thinking on the complexities and the difficulties involved.