Building a Database Engine

English | 2025 | 296 Pages | PDF | 22 MB

Building a Database Engine is a practical guide to building your own database engine from scratch. It is intended for developers seeking to deepen their knowledge of system programming and database architecture.

The author shares his experience from 13 years of application development and concludes: databases survive any technology stack, and most developers know very little about them. This book aims to change that by offering a step-by-step guide to building your own database engine.

What you’ll learn

• Data storage: from a naive CSV approach to an efficient TLV binary format.
• Pre-write log (WAL): implementing fault tolerance.
• Data pages: using 4KB pages with an LRU-based buffer to improve efficiency.
• Indexes: building B-trees and hash indexes for fast searching.
• Buffer pools: caching data pages using an LRU cache supported by a linked list and hash table.

Why Read

• Overcome your fear of systems programming.
• Understand fundamental database principles.
• Develop skills that will set you apart from other developers.
• Prepare for higher-level technical interviews.