Snowflake-Labs/postgres-full-day-training

Snowflake-Labs/postgres-full-day-training

Description: Comprehensive PostgreSQL training with hands on exercises.

Language: PLpgSQL

License: Apache-2.0

Stars: 35

Forks: 7

Open issues: 0

Created: 2026-03-03T18:28:11Z

Pushed: 2026-03-10T21:24:18Z

Default branch: main

Fork: no

Archived: no

README:

PostgreSQL Full Day Training

A comprehensive, open source training curriculum for PostgreSQL—from absolute beginner to production-ready in one day.

What is this?

This repository contains all materials for a 6-8 hour PostgreSQL training workshop:

• Hour 1: PostgreSQL for the Absolute Beginner (includes setup)
• Hour 2: Getting Started with SQL in Postgres
• Hour 3: Postgres DBA Basics
• Hour 4: Postgres Troubleshooting
• Hour 5: Configuration and Performance Tuning
• Hour 6: Query Tuning

The training uses Bluebox, a modern sample database with real TMDB movie data and PostGIS geography.

Who is this for?

• Developers building applications with PostgreSQL
• DBAs transitioning from other database platforms
• DevOps/SRE engineers managing Postgres infrastructure
• Anyone curious about PostgreSQL

Prerequisites: Basic SQL familiarity helpful but not required.

Prerequisites

Docker Desktop - This is the only prerequisite.

• Mac/Windows: docker.com/products/docker-desktop
• Linux: Docker Engine + Docker Compose

# Verify Docker is installed
docker --version
docker compose version

Quick Start

# 1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Snowflake-Labs/postgres-full-day-training.git
cd postgres-full-day-training

# 2. Start PostgreSQL
docker compose up -d

# 3. Install a psql client (choose one)
# Mac:
brew install libpq
# Windows: Use pgAdmin or install PostgreSQL from postgresql.org
# Linux:
apt install postgresql-client

# 4. Connect and create database
psql postgresql://postgres:training@localhost:5432/postgres -c "CREATE DATABASE bluebox;"
psql postgresql://postgres:training@localhost:5432/bluebox -c "CREATE EXTENSION postgis;"

# 5. Load Bluebox data
curl -LO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ryanbooz/bluebox/main/bluebox_schema.sql
curl -LO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ryanbooz/bluebox/main/bluebox_data.sql.gz
gunzip bluebox_data.sql.gz
psql postgresql://postgres:training@localhost:5432/bluebox -f bluebox_schema.sql
psql postgresql://postgres:training@localhost:5432/bluebox -f bluebox_data.sql

# 6. Verify
psql postgresql://postgres:training@localhost:5432/bluebox -c "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM bluebox.film;"
# Should return: 7836

Hour 1 includes detailed setup instructions with multiple psql client options.

Markdown Format

Slides are written in Markdown for Deckset (macOS) or another markdown-to-slide program. They can also be viewed as plain Markdown or converted to other formats.

Repository Structure

├── hour-1-beginner.md # Slides: PostgreSQL fundamentals + setup
├── hour-2-sql.md # Slides: SQL in Postgres
├── hour-3-dba.md # Slides: DBA basics
├── hour-4-troubleshooting.md # Slides: Troubleshooting
├── hour-5-performance.md # Slides: Performance tuning
├── hour-6-query-tuning.md # Slides: Query optimization
├── docker-compose.yml # Docker configuration
├── diagrams/ # Images and diagrams
├── slides/ # PDF versions of the markdown
├── dependencies.md # Software dependencies
└── add_slide_numbers.py # Utility script to renumber slides if things are added/removed

Running the Training

For Instructors

1. Open the hour-*.md files in Deckset or similar 2. Ensure Docker is running with the Bluebox database loaded 3. Have a terminal ready for live demos

For Self-Study

1. Follow the Quick Start to set up the database 2. Read through the slides in order 3. Run the SQL examples as you go

Topics Covered

| Hour | Topics | |------|--------| | 1 | Setup, psql, schemas, data types, constraints | | 2 | CRUD, JOINs, arrays, JSONB, window functions, CTEs | | 3 | Backups, WAL, replication, connection pooling, VACUUM | | 4 | System catalogs, logging, locks, monitoring | | 5 | Memory config, shared_buffers, parallel queries | | 6 | EXPLAIN, indexes, pg_stat_statements, query patterns |

PostgreSQL Version

This training targets PostgreSQL 18 but is compatible with PostgreSQL 14+. Some features (like RETURNING OLD/NEW and WITHOUT OVERLAPS) require PostgreSQL 18.

License

This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0 - see the [LICENSE](LICENSE) file for details.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please see [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for guidelines.

Acknowledgments

• Bluebox sample database by Ryan Booz
• The PostgreSQL community
• TMDB for movie data used in Bluebox

Presentations

This training has been presented at:

• SCaLE 23x (2026) - Southern California Linux Expo

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Questions? Open an issue or reach out to the maintainers.