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CST363 Learning Journal Week 4

 This weeks learning journal prompts are:

1. Briefly summarize 5 things what you have learned in the course so far.  

2. List at least 3 questions you still have about databases.


1. SQL - Learning how to use SQL was great for me. I had never previously used SQL and I found it to be a very approachable and simple programming language. I learned how to perform queries and build tables to organize data in a manner that was accessible and practical.

   Entity Relationship Diagrams - These diagrams I found to be very useful in the initial build out of a database and helps create a visual representation of entities, their attributes and relationships. The ERD can also be used to generate the code required in SQL to model the ERD.

  Database Design Process - The text and lectures provided some good guidelines on the process to create a database. I learned how to understand the database requirements by speaking with the end users and also the process of analyzing, designing and building out the database.

  Database Design Application Using Java - In parallel to SQL I also learned how to implement the database concepts into a java project. This is a good application as it allows me to take the theoretical knowledge gained about databases and applying it in a codebase.

  Relational Database - I learned what a relational database is and how it is structured. I also learned about the benefits structuring data into a relational database can provide, including abilities to query, insert and delete records.


2. The first question I will be exploring are what other types of databases are out there beyond relational and how can they be applied and utilized.

    The second question is what frameworks or APIs are available to assist in database creation and help to streamline some of the more common database operations.

     The third question I have is what other algorithms exist for querying data, beyond linear and binary searches.

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