Tabular Database Systems

Torsten Grust (University of Tübingen)
2026-03-19

A DuckDB-based course on the fundamentals of relational database management systems and SQL.

The slides and auxiliary material are available in the GitHub repository.

Overview

This lecture material has been developed by Torsten Grust to support a 15-week course (coined TaDa) for undergraduate students of the Database Research Group at University of Tübingen (Germany). You are welcome to use this material in any way you may see fit: skim it, study it, send suggestions or corrections, or tear it apart to build your own lecture material based on it. I would be delighted to hear from you in any case:

A DuckDB-Based Introduction to Tabular Data and SQL

As a member of the decades-old family of relational database management systems, DuckDB is an expert in processing tabular data (or: tables, relations). DuckDB is a capable and very efficient SQL database system that can crunch billions of rows on commodity laptops. Its SQL dialect is versatile, complete, and remarkably friendly. DuckDB is a breeze to install and maintain, open for tinkering and inspection, has developed an open and supportive community since its inception in 2019, and thus makes for an ideal vehicle for an introduction into the world of contemporary tabular database system technology.

15 weeks hardly suffice to exhaustively cover a field that has developed since the early 1970s, but I still hope that the topics covered in TaDa will pave a path from which you can easily branch off to get lost in the depths of Ted Codd's jungle. A future TaDa may see chapters added, merged, or removed but as of March 2026, the chapter layout reads as follows:

  1. Tabular Data and Database Systems
  2. Tabular Data in CSV Files
  3. Reading Data at the Speed of LightMemory
  4. Columnar Table Storage
  5. Database-External Data in Parquet Files
  6. The Structured Query Language (SQL)
  7. More SQL (Subqueries + Embedded SQL)
  8. SQL: Grouping + Aggregation and Functional Dependencies

We do not assume any prior SQL skills. Chapters 03 and 07 will have you read and modify short pieces of C, Python, or awk code. There will be only fleeting glimpses at the internals of DuckDB. If the innards of The Duck catch your interest, you may find the companion course Dissecting the Duck's Innards on selected internals of the DuckDB kernel helpful.

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