Database design

Database Design Skill

Model data to match access patterns. Normalize for integrity, denormalize for performance.

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Choosing a Database

Decision Matrix

Factor	SQL (Relational)	NoSQL (Document)	Key-Value	Graph
Schema	Fixed, strict	Flexible	None	Nodes/edges
Transactions	ACID built-in	Eventually consistent (usually)	Limited	Varies
Joins	Native support	Expensive/manual	N/A	Native (relationships)
Scale	Vertical → Horizontal	Horizontal native	Horizontal native	Specialized
Best for	Structured data, complex queries	Rapid iteration, varied shape	Cache, sessions	Relationships

Common Choices (2026)

Database	Type	Best For
PostgreSQL	Relational	General purpose, full-featured
SQLite	Relational	Embedded, serverless
MongoDB	Document	Rapid prototyping, flexible schema
Redis	Key-Value	Caching, sessions, pub/sub
Cosmos DB	Multi-model	Azure-native, global distribution
DynamoDB	Key-Value/Document	AWS-native, massive scale
Neo4j	Graph	Social networks, recommendations

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Schema Design Principles

Normalization Levels

Form	Rule	Trade-off
1NF	No repeating groups	Basic structure
2NF	No partial dependencies	Remove redundancy
3NF	No transitive dependencies	Data integrity
BCNF	Every determinant is a key	Strict integrity

When to Denormalize

• Read-heavy workloads
• Complex queries hitting many tables
• When consistency can be eventual
• Reporting/analytics tables

Example: E-Commerce Schema

-- Normalized (3NF)
CREATE TABLE customers (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    email VARCHAR(255) UNIQUE NOT NULL,
    name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL
);

CREATE TABLE orders (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    customer_id INTEGER REFERENCES customers(id),
    created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW(),
    status VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL
);

CREATE TABLE order_items (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    order_id INTEGER REFERENCES orders(id),
    product_id INTEGER REFERENCES products(id),
    quantity INTEGER NOT NULL,
    unit_price DECIMAL(10,2) NOT NULL
);

-- Denormalized for reporting
CREATE TABLE order_summary (
    order_id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY,
    customer_email VARCHAR(255),
    customer_name VARCHAR(255),
    total_amount DECIMAL(10,2),
    item_count INTEGER,
    created_at TIMESTAMP
);

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Modern ORM Patterns

Prisma (TypeScript)

// schema.prisma
model User {
  id        Int      @id @default(autoincrement())
  email     String   @unique
  name      String?
  posts     Post[]
  profile   Profile?
}

model Post {
  id        Int      @id @default(autoincrement())
  title     String
  content   String?
  published Boolean  @default(false)
  author    User     @relation(fields: [authorId], references: [id])
  authorId  Int
}

// Usage - type-safe queries
const user = await prisma.user.findUnique({
  where: { email: '[email protected]' },
  include: { posts: true }
});

Drizzle (TypeScript)

// schema.ts
import { pgTable, serial, varchar, integer, timestamp } from 'drizzle-orm/pg-core';

export const users = pgTable('users', {
  id: serial('id').primaryKey(),
  email: varchar('email', { length: 255 }).unique().notNull(),
  name: varchar('name', { length: 255 }),
});

export const posts = pgTable('posts', {
  id: serial('id').primaryKey(),
  title: varchar('title', { length: 255 }).notNull(),
  authorId: integer('author_id').references(() => users.id),
});

// Usage
const result = await db.select().from(users).where(eq(users.email, '[email protected]'));

Entity Framework (.NET)

public class User
{
    public int Id { get; set; }
    public string Email { get; set; } = null!;
    public string? Name { get; set; }
    public ICollection<Post> Posts { get; } = new List<Post>();
}

// Usage
var user = await context.Users
    .Include(u => u.Posts)
    .FirstOrDefaultAsync(u => u.Email == "[email protected]");

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Query Optimization

The EXPLAIN Plan

-- PostgreSQL
EXPLAIN ANALYZE
SELECT u.name, COUNT(p.id) as post_count
FROM users u
LEFT JOIN posts p ON u.id = p.author_id
GROUP BY u.id
ORDER BY post_count DESC
LIMIT 10;

Reading Execution Plans

Operation	Meaning	Concern
Seq Scan	Full table scan	Consider index
Index Scan	Using index	Good
Nested Loop	For each row...	OK for small sets
Hash Join	Build hash table	Good for large sets
Sort	In-memory sort	Check work_mem

Index Strategy

-- Single column (most common)
CREATE INDEX idx_users_email ON users(email);

-- Composite (column order matters!)
CREATE INDEX idx_posts_author_date ON posts(author_id, created_at DESC);

-- Partial (when you query a subset)
CREATE INDEX idx_active_users ON users(email) WHERE status = 'active';

-- Covering (includes all needed columns)
CREATE INDEX idx_posts_covering ON posts(author_id) INCLUDE (title, created_at);

Query Anti-Patterns

Anti-Pattern	Problem	Fix
SELECT *	Fetches unnecessary data	List specific columns
N+1 queries	Loop makes N queries	Use JOIN or eager loading
Missing index on WHERE	Full table scan	Add appropriate index
OR in WHERE	Can't use index efficiently	UNION ALL or restructure
Functions on columns	WHERE YEAR(date) = 2026	WHERE date >= '2026-01-01'

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Data Modeling Patterns

Soft Deletes

-- Instead of DELETE, update a flag
ALTER TABLE users ADD COLUMN deleted_at TIMESTAMP;

-- Query active users
SELECT * FROM users WHERE deleted_at IS NULL;

-- Soft delete
UPDATE users SET deleted_at = NOW() WHERE id = 123;

Audit Trails

CREATE TABLE audit_log (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    table_name VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
    record_id INTEGER NOT NULL,
    action VARCHAR(20) NOT NULL,  -- INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE
    old_values JSONB,
    new_values JSONB,
    changed_by INTEGER REFERENCES users(id),
    changed_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW()
);

-- Trigger for automatic auditing (PostgreSQL)
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION audit_trigger()
RETURNS TRIGGER AS $$
BEGIN
    INSERT INTO audit_log (table_name, record_id, action, old_values, new_values)
    VALUES (TG_TABLE_NAME, COALESCE(NEW.id, OLD.id), TG_OP, 
            to_jsonb(OLD), to_jsonb(NEW));
    RETURN NEW;
END;
$$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;

Temporal Tables

-- PostgreSQL example
CREATE TABLE products (
    id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    name VARCHAR(255),
    price DECIMAL(10,2),
    valid_from TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW(),
    valid_to TIMESTAMP DEFAULT 'infinity'
);

-- Query current data
SELECT * FROM products WHERE valid_to = 'infinity';

-- Query historical data (what was the price on Jan 1?)
SELECT * FROM products 
WHERE valid_from <= '2026-01-01' AND valid_to > '2026-01-01';

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NoSQL Patterns

Document Modeling (MongoDB)

// ❌ Relational thinking (too normalized)
{ _id: 1, userId: 'u1', productId: 'p1' }  // separate collection

// ✅ Document thinking (embed when 1:few or frequent access together)
{
  _id: 'order123',
  customer: {
    id: 'c1',
    name: 'the AI assistant',
    email: '[email protected]'
  },
  items: [
    { productId: 'p1', name: 'Widget', price: 9.99, quantity: 2 },
    { productId: 'p2', name: 'Gadget', price: 19.99, quantity: 1 }
  ],
  total: 39.97,
  createdAt: ISODate('2026-02-11')
}

Embedding vs Referencing

Embed When	Reference When
1:1 or 1:few relationship	1:many or many:many
Data accessed together	Data accessed independently
Data doesn't change often	Data changes frequently
Size is bounded	Unbounded growth

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Migration Strategies

Schema Migration Best Practices

1. Forward-only migrations — Don't modify existing migrations
2. Small, incremental changes — One concern per migration
3. Backward compatible — Add before remove
4. Test migrations — Run against production copy

Zero-Downtime Schema Changes

-- Phase 1: Add new column (nullable)
ALTER TABLE users ADD COLUMN new_email VARCHAR(255);

-- Phase 2: Backfill data (in batches)
UPDATE users SET new_email = email WHERE new_email IS NULL LIMIT 1000;

-- Phase 3: Update application to write to both columns

-- Phase 4: Make new column required
ALTER TABLE users ALTER COLUMN new_email SET NOT NULL;

-- Phase 5: Update application to read from new column

-- Phase 6: Drop old column
ALTER TABLE users DROP COLUMN email;
ALTER TABLE users RENAME COLUMN new_email TO email;

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Connection Management

Connection Pooling

// Prisma with connection pool
datasource db {
  provider = "postgresql"
  url      = env("DATABASE_URL")
  // Pool settings in URL: ?connection_limit=10&pool_timeout=30
}

// Node postgres pool
const pool = new Pool({
  max: 20,              // Max connections
  idleTimeoutMillis: 30000,
  connectionTimeoutMillis: 2000,
});

Connection Pool Sizing

Rule of thumb for PostgreSQL:

connections = (core_count * 2) + spindle_count

For cloud: Start with 10-20, monitor and adjust.

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Implementation Checklist

New Database

• Choose appropriate database type
• Design initial schema (3NF or justified denormalization)
• Define primary keys and foreign keys
• Plan indexes for known query patterns
• Set up connection pooling
• Configure backups and point-in-time recovery
• Set up monitoring (query performance, connections)

Production Readiness

• Indexes for all WHERE/JOIN columns
• No N+1 query patterns
• Connection pool sized appropriately
• Query timeouts configured
• Slow query logging enabled
• Backup restoration tested

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Related Skills

• performance-profiling — Query-level performance analysis
• api-design — Data shapes for API responses
• infrastructure-as-code — Database provisioning
• security-review — Access control, encryption

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Design for today's queries, but plan for tomorrow's scale.