Fundamentals of Software Engineering

Chapter 8. Working with Data

Data is a precious thing and will last longer than the systems themselves.

Tim Berners-Lee, computer scientist

When you’re getting started with your career as a software engineer, it’s easy to get lost in the idea of learning programming languages, frameworks, and tools. The reality is you will spend a lot of time in your career working with data in various forms, and data forms the backbone of everything you do. You will model applications around data, collecting it, storing it, transforming it, and ultimately figuring out the best way to transform back to your users in a meaningful way.

When you think of data, the first thing that might come to mind is the data that you store in some type of database. There’s way more to data than that, including understanding different data types, selecting appropriate storage solutions, designing efficient data models, optimizing queries, ensuring data integrity, and managing data evolution over time. These skills are just as critical to your success as a developer as your fundamental coding abilities.

Learning how to work with data well can be challenging. What works in development might fail in production—from slow customer databases to complex migrations and inefficient queries. These real-world challenges are common in software development, and it’s important to be prepared for them.

This chapter lays the foundation for working with data effectively, serving as your guide to becoming a data-savvy developer. ...