Data-Oriented Design
Data-Oriented Design by Richard Fabianby Mr Richard Fabian
Shares rank 100 of 115 programming books by recommenders
Recommended for its data-first approach to design and for clarifying relational database thinking. One reader found it both concrete and abstract, leaving the message unclear.
Recommended for its data-first approach to design and for clarifying relational database thinking. One reader found it both concrete and abstract, leaving the message unclear.
2 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 2
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 2 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Clarifies relational model and database design
“What had a big impact on me was the relational model, specifically after reading Richard Fabian's Data-oriented Design book”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “Learn SQL Once, Use It for 30 Years” “has a lot to say about relational database design”
Comment from 27 Jul 2026 in “Introduction to Data-Oriented Design [pdf]”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Mixes concrete and abstract, message unclear
“This book was both quite concrete and quite abstract, so I walked away not exactly sure if I got the message”
Comment from 27 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?”
Other programming books people recommend
The four most recommended other programming books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crafting Interpretersby Robert Nystrom | 60 | 4 | 94% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Clean Codeby Robert C. Martin | 31 | 87 | 26% | 9 | — | — |
| The Pragmatic Programmerby Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas | 28 | 1 | 97% | 7 | — | Approved |
| How to Design Programsby Matthias Felleisen and Robert Bruce Findler and Matthew Flatt and Shriram Krishnamurthi | 18 | 2 | 90% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Data-Oriented Designby Mr Richard FabianThis page | 2 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 5 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“has a lot to say about relational database design”
“but when it finally clicked it was amazing”
“I really like this way of designing things.”
“What had a big impact on me was the relational model, specifically after reading Richard Fabian's Data-oriented Design book”
“This book was both quite concrete and quite abstract, so I walked away not exactly sure if I got the message”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.