Database Design & Internals
Indexes, query planning, transactions and how databases are built.
Beginner
Start here. No background needed beyond school maths.
Database Normalization Description
A plain explanation of normalisation: why you split data into tables, the first three normal forms, and the trade-offs, with examples.
Sign up to see the source
DB-Engines Ranking
A monthly popularity ranking of database systems by type, handy for seeing which databases employers use and for comparing them.
Sign up to see the source
Advanced
Once the basics are comfortable.
Architecture of SQLite
A short tour of how a real database is put together: the tokenizer, parser, code generator, virtual machine, B-tree and pager.
Sign up to see the source
Let's Build a Simple Database
Build a small SQLite-style database in C, one step at a time: a REPL, a B-tree on disk, and how rows are stored and found.
Sign up to see the source
Expert
Research-level depth and specialist material.