Fall 2007 Semester Index

Here is a list of the entries made to this weblog this semester. 

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Parting Shots

I want to thank you all for your effort, and patience, this semester. I wish you all the best of luck on the exam and in your future endeavors.  Have a wonderful holiday.   Before we completely unplug...here are a few thoughts to wrap up.

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Exam location

As the exam schedule clearly indicates the final exam is Wednesday December 5th, 2007 at 9am in the KC Irving Chemistry building room 104

http://upei.ca/~cls/dropbox/ExamDates.html

The bigger picture: an eBusiness Framework

Of course by now you know...an architecture is a guiding framework, a strategy, or a blueprint for delivering the applications and information required by and organization.  Sometimes we use the term architecture to describe the way individual software components interact (micro).  Sometimes we use the term to describe how a system fits together (macro).  And always, the meaning of the word architecture depends on the context, or perspective, in which it is used.

For example, when we say IT architecture we think of:

• Technical computing platform
• Information management platform
• Communications platform
• Structures and controls that dictate IT use
• Applications that utilize the platform

An eBusiness architecture is similar, but its focus is on ebusiness applications and all their supporting infrastructure. This is the area we're most concerned about here. A major function of an architecture is to define how the various components of the environment fit together.

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mid-term study guide

Here, as a study aid for your final exam is solution for the mid-term.

Download mis_midterm_oct_18_soluton.pdf

Feedback: Online Learning

Hey Gang, I hope you take some time to navigate this webblog again to look upon all its content with fresh eyes.  You'll be surprised by how much of the stuff that seemed fuzzy the first time around is now making much more sense!  Now that you've been through a whole semester of this course I'd be really interested in knowing what you think about the role the Internet, and tools like blogs, or wikis, can and should play in your academic experience.  Does it help you to learn?  Does it improve campus community? campus spirit?

Metadata

Here's a post that discusses a word that happens to represent an important leap in abstract thinking that helps us to understand how distributed software elements communicate and establish logical connections. Meta. Actually it's more a prefix than a word. A full appreciation of the subject is beyond the scope of this course. But a basic understanding of the role of metadata and even metalanguages will take you far in your understanding of the power and elegance of new software.

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From Data to Intelligence

Now that you've been introduced to databases, we can take a closer look at what a relational database is, how they work, and how they are used to build business intelligence.

An Intro to Databases

Where the presentation layer governs the user's interaction with an ebusiness system and the application layer coordinates its behaviour, it's the data layer that brings an ebusiness system to life -- structured information defines entities and relationships representing the actual business and affairs the system exists to support.

Here, to introduce the topics of databases and business intelligence, we will review some key terms.

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file for lab today

Download mis_exercise_november_8.doc