Welcome to SQL and Databases with Python

Hi, I’m Erik. I’ll be your guide through SQL and databases with Python.

A CSV file can be a useful home for data. Python can read it, you can open it yourself, and it may serve a small project for a long time. Trouble starts when the same fact gets copied into several rows and those copies stop agreeing.

That is the moment we will start with.

The project you will build

You will work on a catalog for lending equipment. At first, its information lives in a CSV file. You will move that information into SQLite, ask the database questions with SQL, and use Python to build a program that still remembers its data after it closes.

This course picks up where Python in Practice leaves off. If you can run a Python program, work with a structured file, write a function, and run a test, you know enough Python to begin.

You do not need to know SQL yet, and there is no separate database server to install. SQLite comes with Python.

Meet Monty

Monty is Python Land’s learning guide. You can ask for a hint, another explanation, help reading an error, or a review of code you wrote.

Monty is included throughout this first chapter. Open it now and ask:

When does a CSV file stop being a good fit for a project?

If the answer feels too general, ask for an example about people borrowing equipment. Naming the part you want to make more concrete is a useful way to get better help.

After Chapter 1, full Monty support is part of the Guided subscription. The course still stands on its own without it.

When you are ready, mark this lesson complete. We will open the lending CSV and find two rows that look valid on their own but cannot both be telling the truth.