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  • © 2020

Introduction to Data Systems

Building from Python

  • With minimal prerequisites (Intro CS or Foundations of Python Programming), students in computer science or data science/data analytics are introduced to data systems, and develop data-aptitude early in their undergraduate career, so that such understanding and skills can be utilized in downstream courses, projects, and external endeavors, such as REUs and internships
  • Strikes a good balance between the conceptual underpinnings and the practical skills and application that help to keep students engaged. Use of real-world datasets and projects also make the approach appealing
  • Progressive nature of chapters offers a a rich set of orderings for covering the material in the book for a given course.

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Table of contents (24 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxix
  2. Foundation

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. Introduction

      • Thomas Bressoud, David White
      Pages 3-15
    3. File Systems and File Processing

      • Thomas Bressoud, David White
      Pages 17-57
    4. Python Native Data Structures

      • Thomas Bressoud, David White
      Pages 59-102
    5. Regular Expressions

      • Thomas Bressoud, David White
      Pages 103-128
  3. Data Systems: The Data Models

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 129-129
    2. Data Systems Models

      • Thomas Bressoud, David White
      Pages 131-144
    3. Tabular Model: Structure and Formats

      • Thomas Bressoud, David White
      Pages 145-173
    4. Tabular Model: Access Operations and pandas

      • Thomas Bressoud, David White
      Pages 175-204
    5. Tabular Model: Advanced Operations and pandas

      • Thomas Bressoud, David White
      Pages 205-248
    6. Tabular Model: Transformations and Constraints

      • Thomas Bressoud, David White
      Pages 249-292
    7. Relational Model: Structure and Architecture

      • Thomas Bressoud, David White
      Pages 293-312
    8. Relational Model: Single Table Operations

      • Thomas Bressoud, David White
      Pages 313-348
    9. Relational Model: Multiple Tables Operations

      • Thomas Bressoud, David White
      Pages 349-389
    10. Relational Model: Database Programming

      • Thomas Bressoud, David White
      Pages 391-423
    11. Relational Model: Design, Constraints, and Creation

      • Thomas Bressoud, David White
      Pages 425-462
    12. Hierarchical Model: Structure and Formats

      • Thomas Bressoud, David White
      Pages 463-485
    13. Hierarchical Model: Operations and Programming

      • Thomas Bressoud, David White
      Pages 487-546
    14. Hierarchical Model: Constraints

      • Thomas Bressoud, David White
      Pages 547-579

About this book

Encompassing a broad range of forms and sources of data, this textbook introduces data systems through a progressive presentation. Introduction to Data Systems covers data acquisition starting with local files, then progresses to data acquired from relational databases, from REST APIs and through web scraping. It teaches data forms/formats from tidy data to relationally defined sets of tables to hierarchical structure like XML and JSON using data models to convey the structure, operations, and constraints of each data form.

The starting point of the book is a foundation in Python programming found in introductory computer science classes or short courses on the language, and so does not require prerequisites of data structures, algorithms, or other courses. This makes the material accessible to students early in their educational career and equips them with understanding and skills that can be applied in computer science, data science/data analytics, and information technology programs as well as for internships and research experiences. This book is accessible to a wide variety of students. By drawing together content normally spread across upper level computer science courses, it offers a single source providing the essentials for data science practitioners. In our increasingly data-centric world, students from all domains will benefit from the “data-aptitude” built by the material in this book.






Authors and Affiliations

  • Mathematics and Computer Science, Denison University, Granville, USA

    Thomas Bressoud, David White

About the authors

Thomas Bressoud is Associate Professor in computer science and data analytics at Denison University, where he has been since 2002.  Dr. Bressoud worked outside of academia both before and after completing his MS and PhD degrees from Cornell University in 1996, including seven years at MIT Lincoln Laboratory working in real-time radar systems.  After his Ph.D., Dr. Bressoud worked for the startup Isis Distributed Systems and, through the acquisition frenzy of the 90’s, was working for Lucent Technologies when he transferred to their research arm, Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, NJ.  In both teaching and research, Bressoud’s focus is in the systems area of computer science, specializing in high performance data systems, parallel systems, and in fault tolerance.

David White is Associate Professor in computer science, data analytics, and mathematics at Denison University. After his undergraduate degree at Bowdoin College, David carried out applied data analysiswork for the Department of Defense. He went on to earn his MS in computer science, and PhD in mathematics from Wesleyan University in 2014. His research has resulted in over fifteen publications in mathematics, applied statistics, computer science, economics, and data science. In addition to publications on data science pedagogy, and a chapter for the book Data Science for Mathematicians, he has applied data science techniques to carry out research related to the opioid epidemic, gun violence, and biomedical treatments.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access