Databases and persistence

The Relational Model

SQL Basics, DDL, and DML

Querying Data

Advanced Concepts

Sqlite

DBeaver

SQL Scripts

Connecting with Javascript

Appendix: Glossary of Database Terms

Resources

Practice

Assignment

• Teachers

Core program

Install DBeaver

While working with the command-line interface can be handy with databases, it is also nice to have your data nicely visualised and see it laid out in a nice visual manner, and be able to easily experiment with queries. This is where DBeaver comes in.

DBeaver is a free, open-source database client that lets you open a SQLite database file, browse tables, and run SQL queries — all through a clean visual interface.

Note: DBeaver Community Edition is free and is all you need for this course. If you already have DBeaver installed, you can skip straight to connecting to SQLite.

Installing on Windows

Installing on Mac

Connect DBeaver to a SQLite database file

In SQLite, your “database” is just a file on disk (often ending in .db, .sqlite, or .sqlite3).

1. Open DBeaver.
2. Create a new connection.
   • Click New Database Connection (plug icon) or use Database → New Database Connection.
3. Choose SQLite.
   • Search for “SQLite” in the database list and select it.
4. Point DBeaver at your database file.
   • In the connection settings, set Database / Path to your .db file. Here is a database you can use: books_library.db
5. Download the driver (first time only).
   • The first time you use SQLite, DBeaver may ask to download the SQLite JDBC driver. Approve it.
6. Test Connection, then Finish.

<aside> 💡

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmq6-wvbxyA

</aside>

Run queries and explore your data

Browse tables

• In the left sidebar (Database Navigator), expand your connection.
• Open the database → Tables.
• Double-click a table to view data.

Open the SQL editor

1. Right-click your SQLite connection.
2. Choose SQL Editor → Open SQL Script.
3. Write SQL and run it (play button).

Example query:

-- Show the most recent books
SELECT
    b.title,
    b.published_year,
    a.first_name || ' ' || a.last_name AS author
FROM books b
JOIN authors a ON a.id = b.author_id
ORDER BY b.published_year DESC
LIMIT 10;

<aside> 💡

This is a basic demo of navigating the contents of the database, and opening and using the sql editor, which is where you will end up spending most of your time as you try out queries.

Screen Recording 2026-03-26 at 09.02.23.mov

</aside>

Common gotchas

• SQLite files can be locked if another program is using them. Close other apps that might be holding the file open.
• If you don’t see any tables, double-check you selected the correct database file.
• If you get “no such table”, you might be connected to an empty/new .db file rather than the one with your schema.

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