teachdb - A free, in-memory database for facilitating hands-on, basic SQL instruction in a notebook environment

By: Freestack Initiative

Try teachdb:

Install teachdb:

pip install git+https://github.com/freestackinitiative/teachingdb.git

What is teachdb?

teachdb is an in-memory micro relational database, powered by duckdb. It was made with two types of users in mind: instructors who want to teach SQL concepts, and students who want to learn and practice the fundamentals. Combined with a Jupyter Notebook, teachdb provides a database that can be used to demonstrate fundamental SQL concepts such as select queries, filtering, aggregations, and joins. It can even be used to introduce more advanced topics such as analytical/window functions, common table expressions (CTEs), data definition language (DDL) commands, etc. For students, it provides a safe environment to learn and experiment with a SQL database without the need for setting up your their own server or downloading additional software.

How do I use it?

Here is all that's needed to use teachdb in your Jupyter Notebook:

import duckdb
from teachdb.teachdb import connect_teachdb

%load_ext sql
con = duckdb.connect(":memory:")
connect_teachdb(con)
%sql con

And then, to query your data, create a new cell and use the %%sql SQL magic function like so:

%%sql

SELECT *
FROM company

Python API

teachdb.teachdb.connect_db(connection, data)

This method creates the tables in the DuckDB connection object using the supplied data.

Expects a DuckDB connection object and a dictionary of pandas data frames in the following format: {"table_name": pd.DataFrame}

import pandas as pd
import duckdb
from teachdb.teachdb import connect_db

df = pd.DataFrame({"ColA": list(range(10)), "ColB": list(range(10))})
data = {"sample_table": df}
con = duckdb.connect(":memory:")
connect_db(con, data)
%load_ext sql
%sql con

Now you can query your dataframe:

%%sql 

SELECT *
FROM sample_table;

teachdb.teachdb.connect_teachdb(connection, database="core")

This method is used to load your desired database into your environment using a duckdb connection. It takes a duckdb connection and an optional database specification and loads in the requested data. The database that you specify here must exist in the teachdb schema. Use the get_schema method to see all the available databases through teachdb. The core database is the default database from teachdb.

import duckdb
from teachdb.teachdb import connect_teachdb

%load_ext sql
con = duckdb.connect(":memory:")
connect_teachdb(con, database="ds_salaries")
%sql con

teachdb.loader.get_schema()

The get_schema method returns a dictionary of databases, tables, and their respective paths that are available in teachdb.

from teachdb.loader import get_schema

schema = get_schema()
print(schema)