Foundations of Databases (1995) • Hacker News Board

Re: Foundations of Databases (1995)

#41

Post by golergka » Wed, Apr 14, 2021, 9:48 PM UTC

rgbimbochamp wrote: post #12

Plugging in Andy Pavlo's Database lectures @ CMU which are completely free on Youtube. Great guy and great lectures.

And hands down best music choice of all the CS lectures I've ever seen.

Re: Foundations of Databases (1995)

#42

Post by anonymousDan » Wed, Apr 14, 2021, 10:54 PM UTC

jkaptur wrote: post #7

anonymousDan wrote: post #2

Anyone recommend a good book specifically on distributed databases (not more general distributed systems stuff like e.g. klepmann's DDIA)?

In case someone isn't aware, Designing Data-Intensive Applications is a very good introduction to distributed databases, even if it doesn't specialize in them.

Yeah I don't disagree, I've just read it already :)

Re: Foundations of Databases (1995)

#43

Post by bordercases » Wed, Apr 14, 2021, 11:17 PM UTC

victor106 wrote: post #33

throwaway823882 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not a book, but I would add to the foreword: "Try not to use them."

Genuinely curious: What are some challenges with using distributed databases?

Time is not shared, state is not synchronized, latency exists. What's not to hate?

Re: Foundations of Databases (1995)

#44

Post by fukmbas » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 12:01 AM UTC

slyrus wrote: post #26

Was lucky enough to take Serge's class when he was visiting UC Berkeley back in the 90's. And yet I'm still writing SQL :( Curious to know what the state in the art in solving the then-thornier theoretical problems (negation mostly) is.

SQL is king...

Re: Foundations of Databases (1995)

#45

Post by avodonosov » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 1:42 AM UTC

I saw this book in Rich Hickey's Clojure Bookshelf: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/137472.Rich_Hickey_s_Clo... (haven't read it myself, yet)

For some reason it is called "Foundations of Databases: The Logical Level" there.

Re: Foundations of Databases (1995)

#46

Post by phendrenad2 » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 1:59 AM UTC

I think to truly live up to the name "foundations" of databases, there would have to be some information as to how databases are implemented. For instance, how do you guarantee durability if someone trips over the power cable?

Re: Foundations of Databases (1995)

#47

Post by iamcreasy » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 2:47 AM UTC

rgbimbochamp wrote: post #12

Plugging in Andy Pavlo's Database lectures @ CMU which are completely free on Youtube. Great guy and great lectures.

Can you please tell me what unique/good about this class you are referring to?

Re: Foundations of Databases (1995)

#48

Post by llaolleh » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 2:49 AM UTC

rgbimbochamp wrote: post #12

Plugging in Andy Pavlo's Database lectures @ CMU which are completely free on Youtube. Great guy and great lectures.

Can you go wrong with a professor that says, "I fucking love databases"?

His videos are top notch. Passion creates good quality.

Re: Foundations of Databases (1995)

#49

Post by Akronymus » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 2:49 AM UTC

macando wrote: post #29

msluyter wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To wit: I made it through a master's in CS without a database class. This reminds me of the famous Rob Pike quote: "Data dominates. If you've chosen the right data structures and organized things well, the algorithms will almost always be self-evident. Data structures, not algorithms, are central to programming." I've often found that if I'm coding something and the code starts looking increasingly gnarly, that rethi…

> "Data dominates. If you've chosen the right data structures and organized things well, the algorithms will almost always be self-evident. Data structures, not algorithms, are central to programming." I'm saving this quote. > I've often found that if I'm coding something and the code starts looking increasingly gnarly that rethinking the data structures / data model will clean up the code. I've faced this over and o…

> I've faced this over and over again. Writing algorithms is hard when the underlying data is not optimal. It simply invites writing complicated code and workarounds.

This is actually one of the reasons I am moving more and more to functional programming for myself. I find that modeling the data as just data makes it easier to find a good representation. And that it usually results in simpler algorithms.

Re: Foundations of Databases (1995)

#50

Post by barbecue_sauce » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 4:32 AM UTC

iamcreasy wrote: post #47

rgbimbochamp wrote: post #12

Plugging in Andy Pavlo's Database lectures @ CMU which are completely free on Youtube. Great guy and great lectures.

Can you please tell me what unique/good about this class you are referring to?

If you want to understand how databases work under the hood, from the basics up to near-state-of-the-art, its filled with tons of great information. I recommend reading Kleppmann's Designing Data Intensive Applications and then watching Pavlo.