Databases & Data Systems Resources

Core Database Systems Courses (Most Important)

• CMU 15-445 Database Systems
  Industry-standard course covering storage engines, indexing, query execution, concurrency control, and distributed databases.

• MIT 6.830 Database Systems
  Graduate-level database course covering relational models, query processing, transactions, and recovery.

• Stanford CS145 Introduction to Databases
  Undergraduate course covering relational algebra, SQL, schema design, indexing, and transactions.

• Database Management Systems – Neso Academy
  Comprehensive lecture series explaining ER modeling, normalization, relational algebra, and database theory.

• Databases In-Depth – Complete Course
  Long-form introduction to database fundamentals and architecture.

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SQL Mastery (Essential)

• SQL for Data Science – UC Davis
  Covers joins, subqueries, window functions, and real-world SQL usage.

• Advanced SQL – MySQL for Data Analytics
  Advanced SQL including window functions, CTEs, indexing strategies, and query optimization.

• Mode Analytics SQL Tutorial
  Interactive SQL tutorial with practical exercises and datasets.

• SQLZoo
  Hands-on SQL practice platform with exercises across multiple databases.

• Khan Academy SQL Course
  Beginner-friendly SQL with interactive lessons and exercises.

• PostgreSQL Tutorial
  Complete PostgreSQL guide covering queries, indexing, and performance.

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Database Design & Normalization

• Database Design Fundamentals – Khan Academy
  Covers ER diagrams, normalization, relationships, and database structure.

• Database Design Course – freeCodeCamp
  Complete guide to relational database schema design.

• Vertabelo Database Design Academy
  Courses covering ER modeling, normalization, and physical database design.

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Database Internals & Storage Engines

• CMU 15-445 Database Reading List
  Collection of research papers on storage engines, indexing, and database architecture.

• Let’s Build a Simple Database
  Step-by-step tutorial for building a database storage engine from scratch in C.

• SQLite Architecture Documentation
  Technical documentation explaining SQLite’s internal design.

• PostgreSQL Internals
  Deep dive into PostgreSQL architecture including MVCC and WAL.

• RocksDB Documentation
  LSM-tree based storage engine documentation used in large-scale systems.

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NoSQL & Modern Databases

• MongoDB University
  Free MongoDB courses covering aggregation pipelines, sharding, and replication.

• Introduction to NoSQL – edX
  Overview of key-value, document, column-family, and graph databases.

• Apache Cassandra Documentation
  Wide-column distributed database documentation and tutorials.

• Redis University
  Courses on Redis data structures, persistence, clustering, and scaling.

• Neo4j Graph Academy
  Courses on graph databases and the Cypher query language.

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Transactions & Concurrency

• CMU 15-445 Transactions Lectures
  Covers ACID properties, isolation levels, locking protocols, and deadlocks.

• MIT Concurrency Control Lectures
  In-depth explanation of serializability and transaction isolation.

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Distributed Databases & Scaling

• Spanner: Google’s Globally Distributed Database
  Research paper describing the architecture of Google’s globally consistent database.

• CockroachDB Documentation
  Distributed SQL database architecture and scaling strategies.

• Vitess Documentation
  Horizontal MySQL sharding system originally built at YouTube.

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Data Warehousing & Analytics Databases

• Stanford CS145 Data Warehousing Lectures
  Concepts such as OLAP systems, star schemas, and analytical workloads.

• ClickHouse Documentation
  Column-oriented database optimized for analytical queries.

• Apache Druid Tutorials
  Real-time analytics database designed for event data.

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Query Optimization

• CMU Query Optimization Lectures
  Cost-based optimization, join reordering, and execution planning.

• PostgreSQL Query Planning Guide
  Understanding query plans using EXPLAIN and EXPLAIN ANALYZE.

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Production Patterns & Reliability

• Database Reliability Engineering
  Guide to running databases reliably in production environments.

• Use The Index, Luke
  Comprehensive guide to SQL indexing and query performance.

• High Scalability
  Case studies of real-world database scaling and infrastructure.

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Data Modeling

• Vertabelo Data Modeling Guide
  Conceptual, logical, and physical database modeling patterns.

• ER Diagram Tutorial – Lucidchart
  Introduction to entity-relationship modeling.

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References & Handbooks

• SQL Anti-Patterns
  Common database design mistakes and how to avoid them.

• Database Design Wikibook
  Reference guide covering relational database design and normalization.