Relational databases - there has to be more right?

Question

I really enjoy database design and the whole concept of managing data semantically and all the logic that comes with it.

My knowledge level when it comes to databases is

Answer 1

Well, to be frankly a database is just a way of storing and accessing data. Pretty much what a file system does too.

A parallel from LDAP is that it is a protocol and by this not a definition of what you can do with it and how it should be implemented, the same could be said about SQL.

So if you want to know more about databases you are actually saying you want to know more about the SQL protocol and/or how to store and fetch data.

You might be interested in searching around for what a 'B-Tree' is and how it is used. Another thing worth looking up is EAV (Entity-Attribute-Value) and why schema's are so important for it.

With that knowledge you could actually role out your own DB and while doing that appreciating what RDBM's already have done for you.

If you want a more practical approach look at the documentation that the open-source PostgreSQL provides, perhaps starting with this.