Monday, Wednesday; 11:15 AM - 12:30 PM SN014

Office Hours: See Schedule

Course syllabus (PDF)

Canvas | Gradescope

This is the official course page for COMP 421: Files and Databases. This semester (Fall 2026) continues the direction established in Fall 2025, with an emphasis on database systems rather than applications and data modeling. This course is forked from CMU’s Intro to Database Systems. Projects will be done using a fork of the Bustub DBMS and some examples in lecture slides will reference the Wu-Tang Clan. See the links above for a tentative course schedule, project information, syllabus etc. All this is subject to change, so check back for updates.

As with many systems courses, this course is in the process of adapting to the new reality of AI-assisted coding. The goal is to maintain the high-level learning objectives/outcomes of the course while also recognizing that these tools now constitute the state-of-the-art in software development. How to accomplish this is the open question in systems education, so bear with us while we adjust.