Read the book online, run every query live in your browser, follow the courses — all in one place. The book is a one-time purchase. The courses are a yearly subscription, with new modules and content added regularly.
Read, practice, and track your progress without juggling separate tools, accounts, or installs.
The full 590-page book as clean, navigable web pages. Bookmark chapters, track what you've read, pick up on any device. PDF and ePub downloads included. Datasets ship with the Docker starter kit for a local dev-friendly lab.
The complete 48-module curriculum — Window Functions through Reading Query Plans — with progress tracking and handout PDFs per module.
Every lesson connects live to a real PostgreSQL 17 database — full schema, full dataset, every extension the book uses. No install, no Docker, no account to set up. It's read-only, so there's nothing to break.
EXPLAIN output rendered as interactive plan trees — not raw text. Spot expensive nodes, compare plans before and after an index.
Magic-link sign-in: enter your email, click the link, you're in. One account across the book, courses, and free lessons.
Buy once, keep it forever. Edition updates — like the 2026 Second Edition — are free for all previous purchasers. Courses are a yearly subscription, with new content added regularly.
Every chapter and module comes with hands-on exercises and short quizzes to check what actually stuck — not just a progress bar. Your dashboard tracks what you've read, what you've solved, and what's left.
Real SQL problems tied to the chapter or module you just read — run your own query against the same live database and compare it to the reference solution.
A handful of questions per chapter or module to check what stuck — not graded homework, just a quick gut check.
Points from exercises and quizzes, if you want to track them — opt-in, visible only if you choose to show it.
Buying for your team adds an Enterprise dashboard to the same app — on top of your own student dashboard, not a separate tool.
Every lesson connects to a real PostgreSQL 17 database we run and maintain — full schema, full dataset, every extension the book uses. It's a shared, read-only connection: query freely, explore the plans, nothing to break.
Try it yourself, create a free account now
The open-source Docker Compose lab ships the same datasets pre-loaded into a real PostgreSQL instance — no browser, no cloud, full read-write access. One command and you're in.
PostgreSQL starts with f1db, Chinook, Pagila, and the other book datasets already loaded. Connect with any client — psql, DBeaver, DataGrip, TablePlus. Run queries, tweak schemas, break things and reset.
It's free, MIT-licensed, and works entirely offline. The only thing it doesn't include is the book text itself — that lives in the app.
For the full reading + practice experience, sign in to the app
Several platforms let you write SQL in a browser. Here is how they differ from the TAOP app's approach.
| Feature | The Art of PostgreSQL Application | Codecademy | pgexercises.com | SQLPad / DB-Fiddle | Neon Playground |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real PostgreSQL | ✓ PG 17, shared instance | ~ SQLite subset | ✓ Real server | ✓ Real server | ✓ Real server |
| Runs offline | ✓ Via the Docker Compose lab | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Your data stays local | ✓ Via the Docker Compose lab | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| EXPLAIN diagrams | ✓ Interactive plan tree | ✗ | ✗ | ~ Text only | ~ Text only |
| Paired with a book | ✓ 590-page text integrated | ~ Short tutorials | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Structured course curriculum | ✓ 6 courses, 48 modules | ✓ | ~ Exercises only | ✗ | ✗ |
| Real production datasets | ✓ f1db, Chinook, Pagila — full datasets, shared instance | ~ Toy data | ✓ club dataset | ✗ Bring your own | ✗ Bring your own |
| Extensions (PostGIS, pgvector…) | ✓ Included, shared instance | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ Neon extensions |
| Progress tracking | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
590 pages of production PostgreSQL — a one-time purchase, yours forever. Updates like the 2026 Second Edition are free for all purchasers.
one-time purchase
The complete book, online and offline
| 590-page book as navigable web pages, with chapter bookmarks and progress tracking | |
| PDF and ePub downloads included | |
| Live SQL runner on every chapter — real PostgreSQL 17, no install needed | |
| Visual EXPLAIN diagrams — plan trees, not raw text | |
| Docker starter kit with real datasets for a local dev lab | |
| All future edition updates, free forever |
per year — three tiers
Window Functions to Reading Query Plans
| 6 courses, 48 modules — Master Window Functions, Reliable Aggregation, Data Modeling for Performance, Advanced JOIN Techniques, Query Optimization Fundamentals, Read Query Plans | |
| Hands-on labs and quizzes for every module | |
| Handout PDFs per module | |
| Progress tracking across all courses | |
| The Art of PostgreSQL book included | |
| New modules and content added regularly |
Want to try before buying? Create a free account — same app experience, curated selection of chapters and free lessons.