From the notebook

sql.

3 notes on this topic.

Close-up of a monitor displaying green and blue programming text

sql 21 August 2026

DuckDB ditched yacc for a PEG parser and the error messages got readable

DuckDB 2.0 switched from yacc to a hand-written PEG parser. The goal was not speed. It was error messages that do not make you want to quit programming.

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Mathematical equations written in chalk across a blackboard

sql 14 July 2026

Someone built a neural network entirely in SQL

A developer trained MNIST digit recognition using only SQL queries. No Python. No frameworks. Just recursive CTEs and window functions.

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A GeForce RTX graphics card photographed on a desk

sql 1 July 2026

Someone built a ray tracer in SQL and it actually works

ClickHouse's query language is Turing-complete. Someone proved it by rendering 3D scenes with recursive CTEs and array functions.

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