An introduction to database systems
by C. J. Date · first published 1975
61% recommend35% neutral4% critical
Why HN recommends it
Thorough, academic treatment of relational database theory, bringing out the clarity of relational algebra and how DBMSs work internally; suits readers who want the ideas behind relational databases, not an easy read.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…of good ideas that still apply. Database In Depth by C.J. Date, for programmers who haven't read Date's textbook on databases and probably don't need to. I do wish the NoSQL weenies would read Date's Introduction To Database Systems for some history and humility. Database technology has been there, done that, moved on.
on “Books Programmers Don't Really Read But Recommend” ↗Old but classic is C.J.Date's "An Introduction to Database Systems". This book covers most concepts required for databases, and the reason why relational databases had been an improvement over prior key-value, hierarchical, and network databases. One could consider…
on “Ask HN: CTM gave CS the “kernel language”. Is there a “kernel database”?” ↗Of all the database theory books I have seen, I found the C.J Date book(An Introduction to Database Systems) to be the most elegant one, though the edition I used attempted to use tutorialD than SQL. What I liked is that it brought out the beauty of relational algebra to the reader with great clarity.
on “Foundations of Databases (1995)” ↗It isn't specific to MySQL, but an excellent book for understanding relational databases is _An Introduction to Database Systems_ by C. J. Date. Reading that (even just the first several chapters, and then others as needed) will help you understand the mindset behind both SQL and relational databases in general. While I had figured…
on “Ask HN: Best Book for learning SQL?” ↗A more specific recommendation: _An Introduction to Database Systems_ by C. J. Date. Be warned that he's got an axe to grind - He's often critical of SQL because it doesn't live up to the mathematical elegance of the relational model. (I happen to agree with him.) He…
on “Ask HN: I want to start learning about databases, where should I start?” ↗This is interesting, but I admit I am a bit confused. Having read "An Introduction to Database Systems" by C.J. Date (http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Database-Systems-8th/dp/0...), I have a tremendous appreciation for Relational Algebra and Theory which allows for the closed functional nature/syntax…
on “SQL vs. NoSQL Databases: What’s the Difference?” ↗If you are looking for something advanced, you should check books written by C. J. Date. For example, his "An Introduction to Database Systems" considered as one of the best book on database theory.
on “Important database news from the last few months” ↗…The Definitive Guide to SQLite by Mike Owens -- short, non-academic, theoretical enough to be useful. Focuses on SQLite, which is nice, because that way you don't take MySQL's flaws for granted. 2. An Introduction to Database Systems by C. J. Date -- academically thorough; it's a textbook, so the previous edition is pennies on the dollar. Mostly covers the relational model itself, rather than SQL, which is somewhat like comparing…
on “SQL Databases Are An Overapplied Solution” ↗Huh, apparently my saying so is enough to cite this as fact in kez's blog. One good source about relational databases (including their history) is _An Introduction to Database Systems_ by C.J. Date. The author has an axe to grind, but he's thorough, and there are plenty of other references cited should you want to dig deeper.
on “Ask HN: Why are there so many NoSQL databases?” ↗…biggest change since its publication is that it now has optional foreign key (http://www.sqlite.org/foreignkeys.html) support. If you want a more academic treatment, I would recommend C. J. Date's _An Introduction to Database Systems_. Also, it's been my experience that books which claim to cover relational databases in general, but which actually assume MySQL throughout, are usually pretty bad.
on “Ask HN: I want to start learning about databases, where should I start?” ↗If you would like to learn database theory, then I recommend the following book: _An Introduction to Database Systems_ (8th Ed.) By C. J. Date http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Database-Systems-8th/dp/0...
on “Ask YC: How to write a database” ↗…systems, Gray and Reuter's Transaction Processing: Concepts and Techniques http://www.amazon.com/Transaction-Processing-Concepts-Techni.... For the ideas behind relational databases, I like C.J. Date's Introduction to Database Systems, http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Database-Systems-C-Date/d....
on “Ask HN: What are the best texts to learn the ins and outs of databases and OSs?” ↗Operating Systems: Design and Implementation by Andrew Tanenbaum Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach by Hennessy and Patterson An Introduction to Database Systems by C.J. Date Transaction Processing: Principles and Techniques by Gray and Reuter Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages, and Computation by Hopcroft and Ullman
on “Ask HN: What are your favourite textbooks?” ↗Some advice from the dark ages 20 years ago: I learned a big part from 'An introduction to Database Systems' from C.J.Date. The core understanding of relational databases is in there. It was at the time a book that needed cleaning up and reorganizing, but a few editions have passed by now, so maybe that has…
on “Ask HN: What are some good books for SQL/DBA?” ↗I think C.J. Date's An Introduction to Database Systems is good, also Gray and Reuter's Transaction Processing: Concepts and Techniques.
on “Foundations of Databases” ↗