SCIA-340 Lab Overview¶

SCIA-340 · Secure Databases · Frostburg State University · Spring 2026

All thirteen SCIA-340 labs run on Neon — a serverless PostgreSQL platform. You write real SQL against a real PostgreSQL 16 database. Dr. Chen grades by connecting directly to your named branch and running the verification script. No local database installation is required.

postgresql://username:password@ep-xxxx-xxxx.us-east-2.aws.neon.tech/neondb?sslmode=require

export NEON_LAB_URL="postgresql://..."
psql "$NEON_LAB_URL"

Lab Schedule¶

Difficulty Guide¶

Assessment Structure¶

Every lab uses the same grading model:

Grading Model — Dr. Chen Direct Connection¶

SCIA-340 uses live branch grading: Dr. Chen connects directly to your Neon branch and runs the verification script. There is no "upload your SQL file" step.

How It Works¶

Student workflow                        Dr. Chen workflow
─────────────────────────────           ──────────────────────────────
1. Create branch lab-XX                 1. Receive your connection string
   in Neon console                      2. Connect:
                                           psql "$STUDENT_CONNECTION_STRING"
2. Run all lab SQL on that branch       3. Run verify script:
                                           \i verify_lab-XX.sql
3. Run verification script,             4. Check output matches expected
   confirm expected output              5. Review screenshots
   matches
                                        6. Award points
4. Submit:
   • Your lab-XX connection string
   • Screenshots of all 📸 checkpoints
   • Additional requirement output

Submission Checklist¶

• [ ] Branch named exactly lab-XX (e.g., lab-11, lab-12) or lab-13-capstone
• [ ] All SQL in the lab executed successfully on that branch
• [ ] Verification script output matches expected values
• [ ] All 📸 screenshot checkpoints captured
• [ ] Additional requirement completed and output screenshot submitted
• [ ] Reflection questions answered (submit as PDF or in the LMS text box)
• [ ] Connection string submitted to Dr. Chen via the LMS assignment

Neon Branching Guide¶

Branching is a core SCIA-340 skill. Each lab runs on its own branch, giving you a clean, isolated environment.

Create a Branch (Neon Console)¶

1. Log into console.neon.tech
2. Open your project
3. Click Branches in the left sidebar
4. Click New Branch
5. Set Branch name to lab-XX (e.g., lab-11)
6. Set Branch from → main (inherits main's schema state)
7. Click Create Branch
8. On the new branch page, click Connection Details
9. Copy the psql connection string

Get the Connection String¶

# From Neon console → Branch → Connection Details → psql tab
# It looks like:
postgresql://john:AbCd1234@ep-calm-forest-123456.us-east-2.aws.neon.tech/neondb?sslmode=require

# Set it as an environment variable for the lab session:
export NEON_LAB11="postgresql://john:AbCd1234@ep-calm-forest-123456.us-east-2.aws.neon.tech/neondb?sslmode=require"
psql "$NEON_LAB11"

Branch Lifecycle¶

main ──────────────────────────────────────── (production-equivalent)
  │
  ├── lab-01 ── (Lab 01 work, graded, then archived)
  ├── lab-02 ── (Lab 02 work, graded, then archived)
  │   ...
  ├── lab-11 ── (Lab 11 work — cloud security)
  ├── lab-12 ── (Lab 12 work — compliance)
  └── lab-13-capstone ── (FINAL — do not delete until grade posted)

Tip: You can keep all branches — Neon free tier has no branch limit. Your capstone branch (lab-13-capstone) must remain active until your final grade is posted.

Lab Prerequisites by Lab¶

Some labs build on artifacts created in earlier labs. Check this table before starting:

If you are starting a later lab on a fresh branch, recreate the prerequisite objects (pgcrypto extension, audit schema) on that branch first. The audit schema setup SQL is included in each lab that needs it.

Troubleshooting FAQ¶

# Correct:
psql "postgresql://user:pass@ep-xxxx.neon.tech/neondb?sslmode=require"

# Missing sslmode — will fail:
psql "postgresql://user:pass@ep-xxxx.neon.tech/neondb"

CREATE SCHEMA IF NOT EXISTS audit;
CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS audit.event_log ( /* ... Lab 09 DDL ... */ );
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION audit.capture_change() /* ... Lab 09 function ... */

SELECT id, LEFT(password_hash, 30) AS hash_preview
FROM secure.customers;

Academic Integrity¶

Labs are individual work unless Dr. Chen explicitly designates a lab as a group assignment. You may:

• Discuss concepts and approach with classmates
• Reference PostgreSQL documentation, course slides, and Stack Overflow
• Use AI tools to understand concepts or debug error messages

You may not:

• Share your connection string with another student (it grants them write access to your branch)
• Copy another student's verification function output
• Submit work run by someone else on your behalf

Violations are subject to the Frostburg State University Academic Integrity Policy.

SCIA-340 · Frostburg State University · Spring 2026