--- /dev/null
+---
+layout: lesson
+root: ../..
+title: Using Databases and SQL
+level: novice
+---
+Almost everyone has used spreadsheets,
+and almost everyone has eventually run up against their limitations.
+The more complicated a data set is,
+the harder it is to filter data,
+express relationships between different rows and columns,
+or handle missing values.
+
+Databases pick up where spreadsheets leave off.
+While they are not as simple to use if all we want is the sum of a dozen numbers,
+they can do a lot of things that spreadsheets can't,
+on much larger data sets,
+faster.
+And even if we never need to create a database ourselves,
+knowing how they work will help us understand why so many of the systems we use
+behave the way we do,
+and why they insist on structuring data in certain ways.
+
+Topics
+------
+* [Selecting Data](01-select.html)
+* [Sorting and Removing Duplicates](02-sort-dup.html)
+* [Filtering](03-filter.html)
+* [Calculating New Values](04-calc.html)
+* [Missing Data](05-null.html)
+* [Aggregation](06-agg.html)
+* [Combining Data](07-join.html)
+* [Creating and Modifying Data](08-create.html)
+* [Programming with Databases](09-prog.html)