An Interactive Environment for Relational Algebra Exercises

Abstract

This Master's thesis investigates the conception of an interactive learning environment for relational algebra and extended relational algebra that facilitates autonomous practice and automated assessment, while being in complete accordance with the formalism of the introductory database course of Prof. Christophe Debruyne. Although relational algebra forms a fundamental component of relational database systems, students often encounter difficulties when translating their theoretical understanding into writing correct relational algebra expressions. This is amplified by the fact that existing resources for practising relational algebra frequently omit parts of the theory, adopt semantics that differ from those taught in class, or provide limited support for verifying the correctness of solutions. To address these limitations, the thesis first introduces the underlying theoretical foundations and discusses the decisions that led to the framework adopted for the tool. Then, it conducts a state-of-the-art analysis of existing educational tools that leads to the selection of RelaX as the basis for the tool. Consequently, RelaX is modified to align its syntax, interface, and semantics with the formalism of the course material. In addition, an exercise and verification system is designed and integrated into the tool to provide automated correctness checking and immediate feedback to users. Finally, the perceived usability and pedagogical usefulness of the implemented platform are evaluated through qualitative and quantitative data collected from two practical sessions of the introductory database course. The evaluation indicates that the proposed environment constitutes a promising support tool for relational algebra practice in the database course.