COS 598I: Modern Data Systems (Spring 2026)

Classes: Mondays/Wednesdays 2:55pm – 4:15pm in Jones Hall 100

Instructor: Jialin Ding

Office hours: Directly after class or by appointment (email Jialin)

Quick links: syllabus / schedule / Ed / discussion questions form

Description: Data systems are booming, and it’s so much more than the SQL and relational databases that you learned in your undergraduate Intro to Databases class. This course provides a sampling of big ideas in modern data systems, including large-scale analytic data systems, data lakes and lakehouses, cloud-native data systems, NewSQL/HTAP/in-memory databases, query execution optimizations, and recent trends in using AI to improve data systems and building data systems that support AI applications.

Students are expected to participate in interactive paper discussions and to complete a course project in a topic related to data systems.