Databases

Steps

First steps

1. 1 What a database is forSurvey the main kinds of databases, relational, document, key-value and wide-column, and what problem each one solves.

   • DB-Engines db-engines.comfree

     An authoritative knowledge base collecting information, architectural features, and popularity rankings of database management systems.

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2. 2 Your first SQL databaseCreate tables and run SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE on a zero-setup embedded database to learn SQL by doing.

   • SQLite sqlite.orgfree

     A small, fast, self-contained, high-reliability C-language library implementing a full SQL database engine.

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3. 3 PostgreSQL and a client toolInstall a full relational server and a graphical client so you can explore schemas, run queries and inspect results.

   • PostgreSQL Documentation postgresql.orgfree

     Comprehensive official manual and reference guides on SQL standards, indexing, transaction management, and database operations.

   • DBeaver dbeaver.iofree

     A universal database tool supporting SQL and NoSQL databases for querying, exploring, and managing data science datasets.

   • pgAdmin pgadmin.orgfree

     Open-source administration and development platform designed specifically for PostgreSQL database management.

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Designing and querying well

1. 4 Schema design and constraintsModel entities and relationships with keys and constraints so the database itself keeps your data consistent.

   • PostgreSQL Documentation postgresql.orgfree

     Comprehensive official manual and reference guides on SQL standards, indexing, transaction management, and database operations.

   • Designing Data-Intensive Applications dataintensive.netpaid

     An authoritative guide by Martin Kleppmann exploring principles of distributed databases, stream processing, and storage systems.

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2. 5 Indexes and query performanceLearn how indexes work and how to read query plans, the single biggest lever for making slow queries fast.

   • Use The Index, Luke! use-the-index-luke.comfree

     A developer-oriented guide by Markus Winand explaining database indexing mechanics and SQL performance tuning.

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3. 6 Transactions and concurrencyUnderstand ACID guarantees and isolation levels to avoid lost updates when many users write at the same time.

   • Designing Data-Intensive Applications dataintensive.netpaid

     An authoritative guide by Martin Kleppmann exploring principles of distributed databases, stream processing, and storage systems.

   • CMU Database Group db.cs.cmu.edufree

     A research lab portal led by Andy Pavlo covering modern database systems research, benchmarks, and lecture series.

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4. 7 Users and privilegesGrant each application and person only the access it needs, an essential step before exposing any database.

   • PostgreSQL Privileges Documentation postgresql.orgfree

     Section of the official PostgreSQL manual explaining object ownership, the GRANT and REVOKE commands and the available privilege types for database administrators.

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Beyond relational

1. 8 Document databasesStore flexible JSON-like documents and learn when that model fits better than tables, and when it does not.

   • MongoDB Manual mongodb.comfree

     Official documentation for the MongoDB document database, covering installation, data modelling, queries, indexing, replication and sharding for developers and administrators.

   • MongoDB mongodb.comfreemium

     Document-oriented NoSQL database designed for modern backend application development and flexible schema storage.

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2. 9 Key-value stores and cachingUse an in-memory store for caching, sessions and counters to take load off your main database.

   • Redis redis.iofree

     An open-source, in-memory data structure store used as a distributed database, cache, message broker, and vector store.

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3. 10 Distributed wide-column databases (optional)See how a database spreads data across many machines and what consistency trade-offs that brings.

   • Apache Cassandra cassandra.apache.orgfree

     An open-source distributed NoSQL database management system designed to handle large amounts of data across commodity servers.

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Running databases

1. 11 Schema migrationsVersion schema changes as scripts that run in order, so every environment evolves the same way without manual edits.

   • Flyway flywaydb.orgfreemium

     Open-source database migration tool strongly favoring simplicity and convention over configuration in version control.

   • Liquibase liquibase.comfreemium

     Open-source database schema change management tool that automates database migrations within CI/CD pipelines.

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2. 12 How storage engines work (optional)Look inside B-trees, logs and buffer pools to understand why databases behave the way they do under load.

   • Database Internals databass.devpaid

     Reference companion and guide exploring storage engines, B-trees, LSM trees, and distributed data systems architecture.

   • CMU Database Group db.cs.cmu.edufree

     A research lab portal led by Andy Pavlo covering modern database systems research, benchmarks, and lecture series.

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3. 13 Following database research (optional)Read accessible summaries of influential papers to see where database systems are heading.

   • The Morning Paper blog.acolyer.orgfree

     An archival review blog by Adrian Colyer providing practitioner summaries of data systems and algorithmic research papers.

   • VLDB Conference vldb.orgpaid

     An annual international forum on very large data bases, scalable database management, and distributed data systems.

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