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SQL/MySQL learning series: Day 3️⃣
👋 Welcome to day 3 of our SQL series
—————————————————
📌 Lesson 3: SQL vs MySQL vs PostgreSQL vs Oracle vs MariaDB vs SQLite – Understanding the Differences 🚀
👋 Now that we know what SQL is, let’s explore the different database systems that use SQL.
You know that SQL is a language for talking to databases, right? But SQL itself is NOT a database. It’s just the way we send commands.
The actual databases—like MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, and Oracle—are the systems that store and manage data. They all understand SQL, but each has its own special features.
So, let’s break them down! 🧐
🟢 What They Have in Common
No matter which database you use, SQL lets you:
✅ Store data in tables 📂
✅ Retrieve data with SELECT 🔍
✅ Insert new data with INSERT ✏️
✅ Update existing data with UPDATE 🔄
✅ Delete data with DELETE ❌
That means if you learn SQL once, you can use it in ANY of these databases! 🙌
But… there are some differences. Let’s compare them!
🟢 Breaking it Down: When to Use Each Database?
🔹 MySQL – Best for web applications (e.g., WordPress, Facebook).
🔹 PostgreSQL – Great for complex queries, data analytics, and apps needing JSON support.
🔹 Oracle DB – Used in banks, large enterprises, and high-security systems.
🔹 SQLite – Ideal for mobile apps and small projects (e.g., Android, iOS apps).
🔹 MariaDB – A faster, open-source alternative to MySQL, often used in place of MySQL.
—————————————————
🟢 SQL vs Database Management Systems (DBMS)
Let's clear this confusion as well.
SQL is just a language, but to store and manage data, we need a database system. Think of it like this:
💬 SQL =
💾 Database =
Different databases use SQL, but they have unique features. Let’s compare the most popular ones.
—————————————————
🟢 Example Queries – Do They Work Everywhere?
Most of the syntax is the same across these databases since they all use SQL as the base language. However, there are some small differences in advanced features, functions, or performance optimizations specific to each database. Let’s look at some example queries to see how they might differ.
🔹 Basic Query (Works Everywhere)
SELECT * FROM customers WHERE city = 'London';
🔹 JSON Query (PostgreSQL Only)
SELECT data->>'name' AS name FROM customers;
🔹 Limiting Results (Different Syntax)
✅ MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, MariaDB:
SELECT * FROM customers LIMIT 5;
✅ Oracle:
SELECT * FROM customers FETCH FIRST 5 ROWS ONLY;
As you can see there are not many differences between those when it comes to syntax 😊
—————————————————
🟢 So, Which One Should You Learn?
👨💻 Just starting out? → MySQL or PostgreSQL are great choices.
📊 Working with analytics? → PostgreSQL is your friend.
🏦 Enterprise work (banks, big companies)? → Oracle DB is common.
📱 Mobile apps or small projects? → SQLite is perfect.
🚀 Looking for a MySQL alternative? → MariaDB is worth checking out.
No matter which one you pick, the SQL basics are the same.
—————————————————
🟢 Key Takeaways
✅ SQL is universal, but different databases have different features.
✅ MySQL is great for web apps, PostgreSQL is powerful for large applications.
✅ SQLite is lightweight, Oracle DB is enterprise-level, and MariaDB improves on MySQL.
✅ Most basic SQL commands work across all databases.
📌 Next Lesson: Setting Up Your First Database – Installing MySQL & PostgreSQL. Stay tuned! 🚀
If you like this way of learning show some love ❤️
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SQL/MySQL learning series: Day 4️⃣
Sorry guys I was on a trip for previous few days so there was no new courses during previous week but now its time for:
💥 Day 4 of our SQL series 💥
📘 Lesson 4: Setting Up SQL – Install MySQL/PostgreSQL & Set Up Workbench or DBeaver
Before writing your first SQL query, you need a database to work with — and a nice interface to explore it. Here’s a simple guide to setting up your environment:
—————————————————
🔹 Step 1: Choose your database system
The most popular free options are:
• MySQL – Beginner-friendly and widely used in web development.
• PostgreSQL – Open-source, powerful, and great for more complex work.
> If you're just starting out: go with MySQL.
> If you're curious about more advanced features: try PostgreSQL.
—————————————————
🔹 Step 2: Install the database
✅ For MySQL:
• Download: [https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/](https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/)
• Install using the MySQL Installer.
• Set a root password (don’t forget it!).
✅ For PostgreSQL:
• Download: [https://www.postgresql.org/download/](https://www.postgresql.org/download/)
• Use the installer for your OS.
• Set a password for the "postgres" user during install.
—————————————————
🔹 Step 3: Install a database interface (GUI)
Instead of using a terminal, you can write queries in a clean, visual tool:
• MySQL Workbench (for MySQL only)
→https://www.mysql.com/products/workbench/
• DBeaver (works with MySQL, PostgreSQL & many others)
→ https://dbeaver.io/
Both are 100% free.
—————————————————
🔹 Step 4: Connect the GUI to your database
In the app you installed:
• Click New Connection
• Choose MySQL or PostgreSQL
• Host:
localhost
• Port:
3306
(MySQL) or 5432
(PostgreSQL) • Username:
root
(MySQL) or postgres
(PostgreSQL) • Password: the one you just created
Test the connection – if it says "Success", you’re ready! ✅
—————————————————
💡 No install? Try online playgrounds
If you want to play with SQL right now without setting up anything:
• db-fiddle
• sqlime
—————————————————
Once you’re all set up, let’s move on to writing your first queries!
Db-Fiddle
DB Fiddle - SQL Database Playground
An online SQL database playground for testing, debugging and sharing SQL snippets.
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🌸🐣 Happy Easter from the World of Code & Data! 🐰💻
May your day be filled with joy, colorful moments, and beautifully structured queries.
Wishing you and your loved ones a warm, happy, and meaningful Easter!
Your @bigdataspecialist
May your day be filled with joy, colorful moments, and beautifully structured queries.
Wishing you and your loved ones a warm, happy, and meaningful Easter!
Your @bigdataspecialist
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How discord stores trillions of messages 🧠
An interesting video about one of the biggest challenges in tech world.
This video breaks it down - from the databases they use, to the smart engineering choices that keep everything running smoothly at scale.
No fluff, just a super interesting look at how one of the biggest chat platforms actually works behind the scenes.
Duration ⏰: 1 hour 8 minutes
If you're into system design, scalability, or backend engineering, this one’s a must-watch.
Link
An interesting video about one of the biggest challenges in tech world.
This video breaks it down - from the databases they use, to the smart engineering choices that keep everything running smoothly at scale.
No fluff, just a super interesting look at how one of the biggest chat platforms actually works behind the scenes.
Duration ⏰: 1 hour 8 minutes
If you're into system design, scalability, or backend engineering, this one’s a must-watch.
Link
YouTube
How Discord Stores Trillions of Messages | Deep Dive
Fundamentals of Database Engineering udemy course (link redirects to udemy with coupon)
https://database.husseinnasser.com
Discord engineering goes into details of how they migrated from Cassandra to ScyllaDB, improved the performance of their reads and…
https://database.husseinnasser.com
Discord engineering goes into details of how they migrated from Cassandra to ScyllaDB, improved the performance of their reads and…
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Sorry for not posting for a long time.
I am getting ready for my wedding which will happen in 10 days!🤵👰
Also I will be attending Data Science/AI conference in Malaga (Spain) this week: https://jonthebeach.com/
If you are going to be there please come to say hello 😊
I am getting ready for my wedding which will happen in 10 days!🤵👰
Also I will be attending Data Science/AI conference in Malaga (Spain) this week: https://jonthebeach.com/
If you are going to be there please come to say hello 😊
J On the Beach
J On the Beach - A fun conf for Data Lovers
A Big Data conference for developers, DevOps & Data Scientists on the beach! May 14-16, 2025 in Malaga, Spain. If you are into distributed systems, Machine Learning, Microservices, AI or DevSecOps, buy your tickets NOW!
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🎯 Master Big Data & Data Engineering — Ultimate Free Resource Pack 🚀
---
🔹 🔥 Pro Tips for Aspiring Data Engineers
1. Learn SQL deeply – it's still the foundation of everything
2. Understand data formats: JSON, Parquet, Avro, ORC
3. Master Apache Spark — it's everywhere
4. Learn to use Airflow for orchestrating workflows
5. Practice writing ETL pipelines — build your own mini data warehouse
6. Get comfortable with cloud platforms (start with AWS/GCP free tiers)
7. Version-control your work using Git + DVC for data versioning
8. Learn Docker & Kubernetes basics — modern data infra depends on it
9. Explore real-time processing: Kafka, Flink, and Spark Streaming
10. Follow best practices for data modeling — star/snowflake schemas, SCDs, etc
---
🎓 Top Free Online Courses *(No login required or audit available)*
1. 📘 Big Data Specialization – Coursera
🕒 6 courses | 80+ hours
👨🏫 UC San Diego Professors
💡 Hadoop, Spark, Hive, NoSQL, real-world projects *(audit for free)*
2. 📊 Learn to Code for Data Analysis – OpenLearn (The Open University)
🕒 8 weeks
💡 Beginner-friendly programming and data analysis
📜 Certificate of participation (free)
3. 🧰 Data Engineering Zoomcamp – DataTalks.Club
🕒 10+ weeks
🎥 Full video lectures + GitHub labs
💡 Docker, Terraform, GCP, Airflow, Kafka, Spark, DBT
4. 🌀 Hadoop Tutorial for Beginners – Simplilearn (YouTube)
🕒 2.5 hours
👨🏫 Industry trainer
💡 Intro to HDFS, MapReduce, and the Hadoop ecosystem
5. 🚀 Google Cloud Data Engineering Quest – Cloud Skills Boost
🕒 ~40 hours
💡 Hands-on with BigQuery, Dataflow, Pub/Sub
🎯 Free credits available for real GCP practice
---
📚 Bonus: Free Book
📘 The Data Engineering Cookbook – Andreas Kretz
💡 Open-source guide by a leading Data Engineering YouTuber
---
🔹 🔥 Pro Tips for Aspiring Data Engineers
1. Learn SQL deeply – it's still the foundation of everything
2. Understand data formats: JSON, Parquet, Avro, ORC
3. Master Apache Spark — it's everywhere
4. Learn to use Airflow for orchestrating workflows
5. Practice writing ETL pipelines — build your own mini data warehouse
6. Get comfortable with cloud platforms (start with AWS/GCP free tiers)
7. Version-control your work using Git + DVC for data versioning
8. Learn Docker & Kubernetes basics — modern data infra depends on it
9. Explore real-time processing: Kafka, Flink, and Spark Streaming
10. Follow best practices for data modeling — star/snowflake schemas, SCDs, etc
---
🎓 Top Free Online Courses *(No login required or audit available)*
1. 📘 Big Data Specialization – Coursera
🕒 6 courses | 80+ hours
👨🏫 UC San Diego Professors
💡 Hadoop, Spark, Hive, NoSQL, real-world projects *(audit for free)*
2. 📊 Learn to Code for Data Analysis – OpenLearn (The Open University)
🕒 8 weeks
💡 Beginner-friendly programming and data analysis
📜 Certificate of participation (free)
3. 🧰 Data Engineering Zoomcamp – DataTalks.Club
🕒 10+ weeks
🎥 Full video lectures + GitHub labs
💡 Docker, Terraform, GCP, Airflow, Kafka, Spark, DBT
4. 🌀 Hadoop Tutorial for Beginners – Simplilearn (YouTube)
🕒 2.5 hours
👨🏫 Industry trainer
💡 Intro to HDFS, MapReduce, and the Hadoop ecosystem
5. 🚀 Google Cloud Data Engineering Quest – Cloud Skills Boost
🕒 ~40 hours
💡 Hands-on with BigQuery, Dataflow, Pub/Sub
🎯 Free credits available for real GCP practice
---
📚 Bonus: Free Book
📘 The Data Engineering Cookbook – Andreas Kretz
💡 Open-source guide by a leading Data Engineering YouTuber
Open Learning
Learn to code for data analysis
This free course will teach you how to write your own computer programs, one line of code at a time. You'll learn how to access open data, clean and analyse it, and produce visualisations. You will...
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One of our subscribers wrote a comment asking for automation testing courses so here you go:
🎯 Ultimate Guide to Automation Testing — For Students & Beginners 🚀
*(All resources 100% FREE & No Signups Required!)*
👨💻 Thinking of diving into Automation Testing? Want to boost your QA skills and land a tech job fast? This guide has EVERYTHING you need: tools, tips, free courses, and materials.
---
🔥 What is Automation Testing?
Automation testing uses software tools to run tests on your code automatically — saving time, improving accuracy, and scaling your testing process.
You’ll commonly work with:
✅ Selenium
✅ Playwright
✅ Cypress
✅ JUnit/TestNG
✅ Postman (API Testing)
✅ Jenkins (CI/CD)
✅ Git & GitHub
✅ Python / Java / JS / C#
---
🧠 Top FREE Courses (No Login Needed):
🎓 Selenium + Java Full Course:
YouTube (by Mukesh Otwani)
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRn5J31eAMw
🎓 Playwright JS Testing (2024):
YouTube (by Naveen AutomationLabs)
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkGAw3m6mAg
🎓 Postman for API Automation Testing:
YouTube (by Automation Step by Step)
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5n07Ybz7yI
🎓 Cypress Crash Course (JavaScript):
YouTube (by LambdaTest)
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8N7I0C7D2g
🎓 Jenkins CI/CD for Beginners:
YouTube (TechWorld with Nana)
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxkSgkFv2TI
---
📚 Free Materials & Docs:
📘 Selenium Documentation:
🔗 https://www.selenium.dev/documentation/
📘 Cypress Docs (Modern Web Testing):
🔗 https://docs.cypress.io/
📘 Playwright Docs (Fast-growing alternative to Selenium):
🔗 https://playwright.dev/docs/intro
📘 Postman Learning Center:
🔗 https://learning.postman.com/
📘 GitHub Learning Lab:
🔗 https://lab.github.com/
---
💡 Top Tips & Tricks for Learners:
🧩 Start with Selenium + Java or Python – they’re industry standards.
🔁 Learn basic loops, conditionals & OOP in your chosen language.
⚙️ Practice writing test scripts for login/logout flows.
🧪 Use dummy sites like:
🔗 https://the-internet.herokuapp.com/
🔗 https://demoqa.com/](https://demoqa.com/
🗂 Use GitHub to track your code from Day 1.
🔧 Start learning CI/CD with Jenkins or GitHub Actions after mastering basics.
---
🎁 Bonus: Awesome Practice Projects
✅ Test a Login/Signup form
✅ Automate filling web forms
✅ Write data-driven tests (read data from CSV/Excel)
✅ Automate UI flows with Playwright or Cypress
✅ Automate REST API tests with Postman
---
💬 Final Words
Mastering automation testing doesn’t require a degree or \$\$\$. Be consistent, build projects, contribute to GitHub, and keep learning. These free resources are enough to get you job-ready! 💼
💻 *Start today. Build your first automated test. Make future you proud.* 🌱
#AutomationTesting #Selenium #QA
🎯 Ultimate Guide to Automation Testing — For Students & Beginners 🚀
*(All resources 100% FREE & No Signups Required!)*
👨💻 Thinking of diving into Automation Testing? Want to boost your QA skills and land a tech job fast? This guide has EVERYTHING you need: tools, tips, free courses, and materials.
---
🔥 What is Automation Testing?
Automation testing uses software tools to run tests on your code automatically — saving time, improving accuracy, and scaling your testing process.
You’ll commonly work with:
✅ Selenium
✅ Playwright
✅ Cypress
✅ JUnit/TestNG
✅ Postman (API Testing)
✅ Jenkins (CI/CD)
✅ Git & GitHub
✅ Python / Java / JS / C#
---
🧠 Top FREE Courses (No Login Needed):
🎓 Selenium + Java Full Course:
YouTube (by Mukesh Otwani)
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRn5J31eAMw
🎓 Playwright JS Testing (2024):
YouTube (by Naveen AutomationLabs)
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkGAw3m6mAg
🎓 Postman for API Automation Testing:
YouTube (by Automation Step by Step)
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5n07Ybz7yI
🎓 Cypress Crash Course (JavaScript):
YouTube (by LambdaTest)
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8N7I0C7D2g
🎓 Jenkins CI/CD for Beginners:
YouTube (TechWorld with Nana)
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxkSgkFv2TI
---
📚 Free Materials & Docs:
📘 Selenium Documentation:
🔗 https://www.selenium.dev/documentation/
📘 Cypress Docs (Modern Web Testing):
🔗 https://docs.cypress.io/
📘 Playwright Docs (Fast-growing alternative to Selenium):
🔗 https://playwright.dev/docs/intro
📘 Postman Learning Center:
🔗 https://learning.postman.com/
📘 GitHub Learning Lab:
🔗 https://lab.github.com/
---
💡 Top Tips & Tricks for Learners:
🧩 Start with Selenium + Java or Python – they’re industry standards.
🔁 Learn basic loops, conditionals & OOP in your chosen language.
⚙️ Practice writing test scripts for login/logout flows.
🧪 Use dummy sites like:
🔗 https://the-internet.herokuapp.com/
🔗 https://demoqa.com/](https://demoqa.com/
🗂 Use GitHub to track your code from Day 1.
🔧 Start learning CI/CD with Jenkins or GitHub Actions after mastering basics.
---
🎁 Bonus: Awesome Practice Projects
✅ Test a Login/Signup form
✅ Automate filling web forms
✅ Write data-driven tests (read data from CSV/Excel)
✅ Automate UI flows with Playwright or Cypress
✅ Automate REST API tests with Postman
---
💬 Final Words
Mastering automation testing doesn’t require a degree or \$\$\$. Be consistent, build projects, contribute to GitHub, and keep learning. These free resources are enough to get you job-ready! 💼
💻 *Start today. Build your first automated test. Make future you proud.* 🌱
#AutomationTesting #Selenium #QA
YouTube
Selenium Full Course - Learn Selenium in 12 Hours | Selenium Tutorial For Beginners | Edureka
🔥Edureka Selenium Training (Use Code "𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐔𝐁𝐄𝟐𝟎"): https://www.edureka.co/selenium-certification-training
This Selenium Full Course video by Edureka will help you learn everything there is to know about Selenium. This Selenium tutorial for beginners will…
This Selenium Full Course video by Edureka will help you learn everything there is to know about Selenium. This Selenium tutorial for beginners will…
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Interesting site with collection of all kind of programming related cheat sheets in one place:
https://overapi.com/
https://overapi.com/
Overapi
OverAPI.com | Collecting all the cheat sheets
OverAPI.com is a site collecting all the cheatsheets,all!
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Hey friends! I'm back from my honeymoon 😊
Ready to get back to our regular posts and learning journeys.
Before we dive in, I’ll post a few questions to make sure this channel helps you grow your skills and land that job or internship you’re aiming for! 💼🚀
Ready to get back to our regular posts and learning journeys.
Before we dive in, I’ll post a few questions to make sure this channel helps you grow your skills and land that job or internship you’re aiming for! 💼🚀
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Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
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Programming, data science, ML - free courses by Big Data Specialist pinned «Hey friends! I'm back from my honeymoon 😊 Ready to get back to our regular posts and learning journeys. Before we dive in, I’ll post a few questions to make sure this channel helps you grow your skills and land that job or internship you’re aiming for! 💼🚀»
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
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🔹 SQL Series: Day 5️⃣ – Database & Table Basics
👋 Hey folks! After a few weeks’ break, we’re back with our Monday SQL series specials.
WE are still at basics, today we'll dive into the core building blocks of any database. Think of this as learning the ABCs before writing epic SQL novels.
---
🏛 What’s a Database?
A “digital filing cabinet” that holds tables of related info (Users, Products, Orders…).
📋 Tables = Supercharged Spreadsheets
Organized into columns (fields) and rows (records), modeling one real-world entity each.
---
* Columns 🔹 Header labels (
* Rows 🔸 Each line is one record (e.g.,
* Cells ⚡️ Intersection of row+column; e.g., Bob’s email is
---
🔹 Column types
They tell the database what kind of data each column holds (numbers, text, dates, etc.). Think of them as choosing the right container—glass for water, plastic for cereal.
-—
📚 Column Types at a Glance
* INT – Whole numbers (IDs, counters)
* VARCHAR(n) – Variable-length text up to *n* characters (names, emails)
* DECIMAL(p,s) – Exact decimals with *p* total digits and *s* after the dot (prices, quantities)
* DATE / DATETIME – Calendar dates or timestamps (order dates, signup times)
🔍 Why? Choosing the right type:
• ✅ Saves space (no storing “300 characters” in a “10-char” field)
• ✅ Speeds up comparisons & calculations
That's it for today, next Monday we talk about primary keys 🔑
Please leave reactions to this post if you find this valuable ❤️
👋 Hey folks! After a few weeks’ break, we’re back with our Monday SQL series specials.
WE are still at basics, today we'll dive into the core building blocks of any database. Think of this as learning the ABCs before writing epic SQL novels.
---
🏛 What’s a Database?
A “digital filing cabinet” that holds tables of related info (Users, Products, Orders…).
📋 Tables = Supercharged Spreadsheets
Organized into columns (fields) and rows (records), modeling one real-world entity each.
---
+----+---------+-----------------------+
| id | name | email |
+----+---------+-----------------------+
| 1 | Alice | [email protected] |
| 2 | Bob | [email protected] |
| 3 | Carol | [email protected] |
+----+---------+-----------------------+
* Columns 🔹 Header labels (
id
, name
, email
) define the type and name of each data slot—like spreadsheet headers.* Rows 🔸 Each line is one record (e.g.,
(2, Bob, [email protected])
), representing a single entity.* Cells ⚡️ Intersection of row+column; e.g., Bob’s email is
[email protected]
.---
🔹 Column types
They tell the database what kind of data each column holds (numbers, text, dates, etc.). Think of them as choosing the right container—glass for water, plastic for cereal.
-—
📚 Column Types at a Glance
* INT – Whole numbers (IDs, counters)
* VARCHAR(n) – Variable-length text up to *n* characters (names, emails)
* DECIMAL(p,s) – Exact decimals with *p* total digits and *s* after the dot (prices, quantities)
* DATE / DATETIME – Calendar dates or timestamps (order dates, signup times)
🔍 Why? Choosing the right type:
• ✅ Saves space (no storing “300 characters” in a “10-char” field)
• ✅ Speeds up comparisons & calculations
That's it for today, next Monday we talk about primary keys 🔑
Please leave reactions to this post if you find this valuable ❤️
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Full Stack Open 2025
A deep dive into modern JavaScript-based web development: React, Redux, Node.js, GraphQL, TypeScript, CI/CD and containers. Self-paced, project-driven, with optional ECTS credits.
Rating ⭐️ 4.7 / 5 (33 Class Central reviews)
Students 👨🎓 11.1 K
Duration ⏰ Self-paced (~200 hrs total)
Created by 👨🏫 Matti Luukkainen, Kalle Ilves & Jami Kousa (University of Helsinki)
🔗 COURSE LINK: https://fullstackopen.com/en/
A deep dive into modern JavaScript-based web development: React, Redux, Node.js, GraphQL, TypeScript, CI/CD and containers. Self-paced, project-driven, with optional ECTS credits.
Rating ⭐️ 4.7 / 5 (33 Class Central reviews)
Students 👨🎓 11.1 K
Duration ⏰ Self-paced (~200 hrs total)
Created by 👨🏫 Matti Luukkainen, Kalle Ilves & Jami Kousa (University of Helsinki)
🔗 COURSE LINK: https://fullstackopen.com/en/
Fullstackopen
Full stack open
Open online course on JavaScript based modern web development by University of Helsinki and Houston Inc..
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🔹 SQL Series: Day 6️⃣ – Mastering the Primary Key
👋 Hey data adventurers! Today we’re shining the spotlight on the Primary Key - the VIP pass that makes every row unique and lightning-fast to find.
---
🛠 Origins: Why Primary Keys Were Born
* Prevent Duplicate Records: In early systems, it was all too easy to accidentally insert “two Alices” primary keys ensure each record stays one-of-a-kind.
* Enable Fast Access: As datasets grew, scanning millions of rows was impractical. Keys provided a built-in index for instant lookups.
* Support Relationships: To link data across tables reliably (think Orders → Customers), you need a stable, unique anchor.
---
🔑 What Makes a Primary Key Special?
* Unique – No two rows share the same value.
* Not NULL – Every record must have one.
* Indexed – The database auto-builds an index, so
* Integrity Enforcer – Prevents duplicates and anchors foreign-key relationships.
---
📋 1. Only One per Table
A table can have just one primary key.
> Even if it’s made of multiple columns (a composite key), you still pick *one* PK to enforce uniqueness.
---
🧩 2. Composite Primary Keys
When no single column does the job, team up two (or more) columns:
This combo ensures each row is unique only when both values match.
---
🌱 3. Natural vs. Surrogate Keys
Primary key can be natural or surrogate key:
* Natural Key: Real-world data (e.g.,
* Surrogate Key: System-generated (e.g.,
> Tip: Surrogates stay stable; naturals can change (and bite you!).
---
🛡 4. Best Practices
• Stable – Pick values that won’t change.
• Minimal – Keep it short; every byte counts.
• Simple – One-column PKs are easiest; use composites only when needed.
---
🔐 While the Primary Key is our star today, remember there’s a whole key family waiting in the wings: Super Keys, Candidate Keys, Alternate Keys, Composite Keys, Unique Keys, Foreign Keys, Surrogate Keys… we’ll dive into those soon!
👋 Hey data adventurers! Today we’re shining the spotlight on the Primary Key - the VIP pass that makes every row unique and lightning-fast to find.
---
🛠 Origins: Why Primary Keys Were Born
* Prevent Duplicate Records: In early systems, it was all too easy to accidentally insert “two Alices” primary keys ensure each record stays one-of-a-kind.
* Enable Fast Access: As datasets grew, scanning millions of rows was impractical. Keys provided a built-in index for instant lookups.
* Support Relationships: To link data across tables reliably (think Orders → Customers), you need a stable, unique anchor.
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+----+---------+-----------------------+
| id | name | email |
+----+---------+-----------------------+
| 1 | Alice | [email protected] |
| 2 | Bob | [email protected] |
| 3 | Carol | [email protected] |
+----+---------+-----------------------+
🔑 What Makes a Primary Key Special?
* Unique – No two rows share the same value.
* Not NULL – Every record must have one.
* Indexed – The database auto-builds an index, so
WHERE id = 2
is blazing fast.* Integrity Enforcer – Prevents duplicates and anchors foreign-key relationships.
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📋 1. Only One per Table
A table can have just one primary key.
> Even if it’s made of multiple columns (a composite key), you still pick *one* PK to enforce uniqueness.
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🧩 2. Composite Primary Keys
When no single column does the job, team up two (or more) columns:
PRIMARY KEY (order_id, product_id)
This combo ensures each row is unique only when both values match.
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🌱 3. Natural vs. Surrogate Keys
Primary key can be natural or surrogate key:
* Natural Key: Real-world data (e.g.,
email
).* Surrogate Key: System-generated (e.g.,
AUTO_INCREMENT
or a UUID).> Tip: Surrogates stay stable; naturals can change (and bite you!).
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🛡 4. Best Practices
• Stable – Pick values that won’t change.
• Minimal – Keep it short; every byte counts.
• Simple – One-column PKs are easiest; use composites only when needed.
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🔐 While the Primary Key is our star today, remember there’s a whole key family waiting in the wings: Super Keys, Candidate Keys, Alternate Keys, Composite Keys, Unique Keys, Foreign Keys, Surrogate Keys… we’ll dive into those soon!
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