DuckDB: Up and Running

DuckDB, an open source in-process database created for OLAP workloads, provides key advantages over more mainstream OLAP solutions: It’s embeddable and optimized for analytics. It also integrates well with Python and is compatible with SQL, giving you the performance and flexibility of SQL right within your Python environment. This handy guide shows you how to get started with this versatile and powerful tool.

Author Wei-Meng Lee takes developers and data professionals through DuckDB’s primary features and functions, best practices, and practical examples of how you can use DuckDB for a variety of data analytics tasks. You’ll also dive into specific topics, including how to import data into DuckDB, work with tables, perform exploratory data analysis, visualize data, perform spatial analysis, and use DuckDB with JSON files, Polars, and JupySQL.

Understand the purpose of DuckDB and its main functions

• Conduct data analytics tasks using DuckDB
• Integrate DuckDB with pandas, Polars, and JupySQL
• Use DuckDB to query your data
• Perform spatial analytics using DuckDB’s spatial extension
• Work with a diverse range of data including Parquet, CSV, and JSON

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Getting Started with DuckDB

Chapter 2. Importing Data into DuckDB 

Chapter 3. A Primer on SQL

Chapter 4. Using DuckDB with Polars

Chapter 5. Performing EDA with DuckDB

Chapter 6. Using DuckDB with JSON Files

Chapter 7. Using DuckDB with JupySQL

Chapter 8. Accessing Remote Data Using DuckDB

Chapter 9. Using DuckDB in the Cloud with MotherDuck

About the Author

Wei-Meng Lee is a technologist and founder of Developer Learning Solutions, a company that provides hands-on training on the latest technologies. He is an established developer and trainer, specializing in data science, blockchain, and mobile technologies. Wei-Meng speaks regularly at international conferences and has authored and co-authored numerous books on topics ranging from blockchain to machine learning. He currently writes a regular column for Medium and Code Magazine, with a focus on making complex technologies easy for beginners to understand.