Every database administrator starts in the same place: understanding what a database actually is and how its data is organised. Database fundamentals are the concepts behind every table, query, and backup you will manage later in the course.
You'll start with the relational model: tables, rows, columns, and the primary and foreign keys that connect them. From there the module covers entity-relationship diagrams for planning a schema, then normalization (1NF, 2NF, and 3NF) for removing redundant data. It also introduces ACID properties, the guarantees that make database transactions reliable, and finishes with a full database design course you can use to practise.
With these concepts in place, you'll be ready for the next module, SQL & Query Writing, where you start talking to a database directly.
The basic building blocks of a relational database, including tables, columns, primary keys, foreign keys, and referential integrity, illustrated with a customer order database.
How to plan a database with an ER diagram, covering entities, attributes, relationships, and cardinality, with worked examples.
An example-driven walk through normalization: why it matters, and how to take a messy table through each normal form step by step.
What database transactions are and what it means for a database to be ACID compliant, with each of the four properties explained.
A full beginner course on database design, for going deeper into the concepts from this module and practising planning a database from scratch.