Books

Learn databases from the bottom up by coding your own, in small steps, and with simple Go code (language agnostic).Atomicity & durability. A DB is more than files!Persist data with fsync.Crash recovery.KV store based on B-tree.Disk-based data structures.Space management with a free list.Relational DB on top of KV.Learn how tables and indexes are related to B-trees.SQL-like query language; parser & interpreter.Concurrent transactions with copy-on-write data structures.

This book provides an introduction to the high-level concepts behind query engines and walks through all aspects of building a fully working SQL query engine in Kotlin.

What really happens when PostgreSQL executes your query? Follow a SQL statement through every stage of PostgreSQL's internal pipeline—from raw text to returned results—and gain the deep understanding that transforms how you write, tune, and debug database applications.

You don't need a graph database. You need graph thinking inside DuckDB. GraphDuck takes you from SQL adjacency lists to metagraphs, hypergraphs, and hybrid Graph RAG pipelines — all inside DuckDB. Learn to model knowledge graphs, build AI agent memory systems, run graph algorithms, and combine vector search with graph traversal in a single embedded database. Every concept comes with runnable code. No infrastructure required.

Mastering Qdrant for RAG Applications is your practical guide to building production-ready RAG systems with the leading open-source vector database. Learn how to design, optimize, and scale high-performance vector search using Qdrant through clear explanations, real-world examples, and hands-on code.

A high-performance data access layer must resonate with the underlying database system. Knowing the inner workings of a relational database and the data access frameworks in use can make the difference between a high-performance enterprise application and one that barely crawls.

Go from your first SQL query to solving real database problems with confidence. This hands-on guide covers everything from SQL fundamentals and data analysis to advanced queries, optimization and production best practices, with practical examples that work across today’s major database systems.

Build a working SQL database engine in C++20 -- from raw pages to a realquery executor -- one compilable, measured challenge at a time. Everyperformance claim is a benchmark you run yourself; every unit ends with areal bug, caught red-handed and fixed. Nothing asserted. Everythingdemonstrated.

Master PostgreSQL administration with a practical guide to deploying, securing, optimizing, and operating production databases. Covering PostgreSQL 17 and 18, this book combines real-world examples, hands-on labs, and proven best practices for reliable, high-performance systems.

Build real-world software by coding a Redis server from scratch.Network programming. The next level of programming is programming for multiple machines. Think HTTP servers, RPCs, databases, distributed systems.Data structures. Redis is the best example of applying data structures to real-world problems. Why stop at theoretical, textbook-level knowledge when you can learn from production software?Low-level C. C was, is, and will be widely used for systems programming and infrastructure software. It’s a gateway to many low-level projects.From scratch. A quote from Richard Feynman: “What I cannot create, I do not understand”. You should test your learning with real-world projects!

An Oracle DBA handed a MySQL database is surprised twice: first by how little seems to be there, then by how much of what you know doesn't carry over. All 79 chapters translate what you already do in Oracle — architecture, execution plans, indexing, replication, failover — into the language of MySQL 8.4, with every result measured on real servers. Continuously updated.

DuckDB has changed how people work with data by bringing fast analytical queries to a lightweight embedded database. Whether you are exploring Parquet files, building data pipelines or embedding analytics into your application, this handbook shows you how to get the most out of DuckDB with practical examples and real-world techniques.

A practical 62-page manual to master SQL for data analysis from scratch. Covers SELECT, JOINs, CTEs, Window Functions, and a complete RFM final project. Includes exercises, cheatsheets, and a real dataset.

STOP building fragile AI wrappers. START designing resilient AI systems. Lots of companies are trying to make their small AI experiments into big products, but they don't have a good plan. Engineers need a practical guide to build these new AI systems the right way - so they can handle scale, be reliable, and won't cost too much. This book is that guide. It explains how to design systems that use AI models. This book breaks down the architecture of real AI applications, like an AI-powered code editor or a smart learning app. It gives you a deep, practical look at the real-world challenges and solutions for building these systems. It discusses system design concepts for systems that use LLMs.

Building a chat feature over your product docs? You need a vector database.Adding recommendations to your app? Vector database.Searching 100 million images by visual similarity? Definitely a vector database.Yet most engineers stumble into these projects unprepared. They don't understand the trade-offs between IVF, HNSW, and Product Quantization. They pick the wrong similarity metric. They scale the wrong way.This book is the missing manual. It covers:The mathematics of embeddings and why they workHow to choose the right algorithm for your latency and accuracy constraintsDeep dives into Pinecone, Milvus, Weaviate, Qdrant, and ChromaBuilding production RAG systems that actually workIndustry case studies from Spotify to JPMorgan Chase20+ ready-to-run recipes for common scenarios