Database Systems: Under the Hood
Welcome to CS145 Systems Section
This section explores the internal architecture and implementation of database management systems. You'll learn how databases actually work beneath the SQL interface.
Core Topics
🏗️ System Architecture
Understanding how database components work together:
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Client-server architecture
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Query processing pipeline
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Storage management layers
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Transaction coordination
💾 Storage Engines
How databases persist and retrieve data:
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B-Tree indexes for OLTP
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LSM trees for write-heavy workloads
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Column stores for analytics
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In-memory databases
⚡ Query Processing
From SQL text to results:
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Query parsing and validation
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Logical plan generation
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Cost-based optimization
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Physical execution strategies
🔒 Transactions
Ensuring data consistency:
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ACID properties in practice
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Concurrency control mechanisms
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Recovery and durability
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Distributed transactions
Learning Path
Why Study Database Systems?
Industry Relevance
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Every application needs data storage
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Performance bottlenecks often in the database
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Cloud databases are everywhere
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NoSQL vs SQL trade-offs
Career Opportunities
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Database Administrator (DBA)
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Performance Engineer
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Data Platform Engineer
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Cloud Database Architect
Technical Skills
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System design and architecture
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Performance optimization
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Distributed systems concepts
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Data consistency models
Prerequisites
Before diving into systems, you should understand:
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Basic SQL queries (Section1-SQL)
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Data structures (B-trees, hash tables)
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Operating systems basics (I/O, memory)
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Algorithms (sorting, searching)
Ready to Start?
Start with the big picture: Visit Data Centers to see the massive infrastructure behind database systems, then dive into Storage & Paging to understand how data lives on disk, and explore IO Cost Model to learn why some operations are 1000× faster than others.
Each topic builds on the previous one, connecting the physical reality of data centers to the algorithms that make modern database systems work.