(Part 2) Top products from r/Database

I'm no expert in database certification so I won't comment on them, but they sound expensive. I'm sure you could go a long way in improving your skills by working through some free resources and classic texts.

A nice tutorial on fundamentals is:
http://philip.greenspun.com/sql/

A classic introductory to intermediate text is the following. It can get you amazingly far because even advanced topics are explained well:
http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~dbbook/

Don't get thrown off by the publication year. The fundamentals of relational databases have barely changed for decades.

An excellent in-depth look at database theory is presented in:
http://www.amazon.com/Foundations-Databases-The-Logical-Level/dp/0201537710

For data warehousing and analytical querying (beyond Ramakrishnan et al) this is a great resource:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Data-Warehouse-Toolkit-Dimensional/dp/0471200247

Source: I'm a graduate student in databases.

For your particular application I would look at OpenStreetMaps. Otherwise...

David Hay's

• [Enterprise Model Patterns][1]. This is a beast of a book, but has some great patterns.
  
• [Conventions of Thought][2]. More stuff on MRP.
  
• [A Meta-Data Map][3] . Haven't read this one.
  
  Len Silverston's
  
  
• [Data Model Resource Book Vol. 1][4]. Your main data model patterns.
  
• [Data Model Resource Book Vol. 2][5]. Case studies by industry.
  
• [Data Model Resource Book Vol. 3][6]. A deeper explanation of Vol 1.
  
  Michael Blaha's [Patterns of Data Modeling][7]. This one has some interesting temporal, graph, and tree models.
  
  Martin Fowler's [Analysis Patterns][8]. This one skims some of the other patterns, but gives accounting a solid treatment.
  
  They are all well-rated, and I have read all but one, and they are all very good. Several of them are available on [safaribooksonline][9].
  
  Also, OASIS's [Universal Business Language][10], schemas
  
  
  [1]: http://www.amazon.com/Enterprise-Model-Patterns-Describing-Version/dp/1935504053/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346950468&sr=1-1&keywords=enterprise%20model%20patterns
  [2]: http://www.amazon.com/Data-Model-Patterns-David-Hay/dp/0932633749/ref=pd_sim_b_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1PQPGE4E6T2RPR2XTN80
  [3]: http://www.amazon.com/Data-Model-Patterns-Metadata-Management/dp/0120887983/ref=pd_sim_b_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1PQPGE4E6T2RPR2XTN80
  [4]: http://www.amazon.com/Data-Model-Resource-Book-Vol/dp/0471380237/ref=pd_sim_b_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=08T9TEZJNZM2EMKZV3AB
  [5]: http://www.amazon.com/Data-Model-Resource-Book-Vol/dp/0471353485/ref=pd_sim_b_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1D5TDG7479G7TQMBPNWF
  [6]: http://www.amazon.com/Data-Model-Resource-Book-Vol/dp/0470178450/ref=pd_sim_b_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=08T9TEZJNZM2EMKZV3AB
  [7]: http://www.amazon.com/Patterns-Modeling-Emerging-Directions-Applications/dp/1439819890/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346950554&sr=1-1&keywords=patterns%20of%20data%20modeling
  [8]: http://www.amazon.com/Analysis-Patterns-Reusable-Object-Models/dp/0201895420/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346961699&sr=1-1&keywords=analysis+patterns
  [9]: http://my.safaribooksonline.com/search?q=data%20model
  [10]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Business_Language
  

Since relational databases are a mature technology, there is some well-established theory that is very useful to learn (in conjunction with the more practical, vendor-specific knowledge).

I'd suggest:

Database Management Systems - an undergrad-level textbook with a good balance of theory and practice, foundations and advanced material.

Readings in Database Systems - a compilation of influential academic papers from the database field.

Data Modeling Made Simple - a great little book that bridges the gap between databases and the real-world entities they store.

1. Use a relational data store first: MySQL/PostgreSQL/M$ SQL Server.
   
2. Put CRUD operations behind a web service.
   
3. Instead of arbitrary key/value pairs, try to get as specific as possible about the data (instead of storing everything as strings). Being more specific will help things (usually) to be more performant.
   
4. Build the application on top of the service.
   
5. Scale to the # of users you want to be able to support
   
6. At this point, if you need to move part of the data into a non-relational data store, you can.
   
   I also recommend reading this book: Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture

http://www.w3schools.com/sql/default.asp

Judith Bowman's book is pretty good.

What courses does your school offer for databases? SQL? Administration?

A great starting point would be to learn and become proficient in SQL:

http://www.amazon.com/Oracle-Database-Fundamentals-Exam-Guide/dp/0071597867/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1415821007&sr=8-2

After that, pick up the book for the 2nd Oracle OCA exam, Administration 1.

https://www.amazon.com/Database-Design-Mere-Mortals-Hands/dp/0201752840

I read that book back in college for my Databases class and thought it was a pretty easy read. It's long, but can also surprisingly be a quick read, esp if you just go thru it w/ a highlighter and don't take much notes beyond that.

There's also a newer version of the book available.

Are there any specific questions you have about databases tho, or any specific topics that confuse you? What database software are you guys working with? MySQL? MariaDB? Microsoft Access? PostgreSQL? MongoDB?

You're thinking like a java developer. Stop thinking open source and retrain your mind to think in sets. Once you've got the basics of set-based computing down, the particular DBMS you end up working with is just a matter of learning server config and eventually the nuances of particular execution plan creation and management.

Try something like this that is totally independent of RDMS. Learn the fundamentals of the SQL language, thinking in terms of sets, and basic performance management through indexing and you'll be miles ahead of the game.

For data modeling, I prefer Object Role Modeling (ORM2) over UML. It gives you a conceptual model (ideas and relationships) rather than a logical model (tables and columns), which ends up being more semantically stable as you refine your domain.

The cool thing is that you can generate a 5th Normal Form logical model from it algorithmically. The NORMA tool for Visual Studio can even generate the Barker ER diagram for those who prefer that view.

Full disclosure: I'm a fanatic of ORM2 and have started blogging about fact modeling in my copious spare time.

EDIT: The definitive work on ORM2 is Terry Halpin's book

Database Modeling and Design


My ex was building some databases for a job and I found this book (well an older version) to be excellent and concise about explaining the why behind database design.

Agreed, OP, you're massively overcomplicating this. If you learn a bunch of math and theory to try and become a database professional you will just come across as an academic rather than someone who can get work done. Learn how to get work done. Check out books like SQL Cookbook and SQL For Smarties to learn stuff that will actually help you do what you need to do.

You do want to have normalization down and basically understand set theory, but you're already doing that.

This might be good. You can also read some of the documentation/white papers/marketing materials on otn.oracle.com for Exalytics and/or TimesTen

I'd recommend first, the Inside SQL Server Series mentioned above. Also I'd recommend the Guru's guide to Transact-SQL. I found it really enhanced my skills in T-SQL over the years. I'd run into some difficult problem only to think 'hey, the guru's guide had something on this....'. I tried to re-read it every year. Also, lots of good code samples.

Last DB book I purchased was Database Systems

read https://www.amazon.com/Refactoring-Databases-Evolutionary-paperback-Addison-Wesley/dp/0321774515 and use Liquibase or Flyway or Sqitch