AWS DynamoDB: The Complete Guide with 18+ Demos

Deep look at String, Number, Binary, Boolean, Null, List, Map, and Set types. You will learn when to pick each one.

How DynamoDB stores data at the physical level. Understanding partitions, item size limits, and attribute naming costs.

The most important decision in DynamoDB. Covers high-cardinality keys, hot partitions, and strategies for even distribution.

Use composite sort keys for time-series, hierarchical data, and range queries. Includes real examples from production systems.

Model a user table with partition and sort keys. Practice inserting items with different attribute combinations and querying them.

Full explanation of GSIs with projection types, throughput considerations, and eventual consistency tradeoffs.

Add a GSI to the user table from Demo 2. Query by email, filter results, and observe how projection settings affect returned data.

When LSIs make sense, their limitations compared to GSIs, and how they share throughput with the base table.

Create an LSI on an orders table. Query orders by date within a customer partition and compare results with GSI queries.

Cost analysis, auto-scaling settings, and burst capacity. You will learn which mode fits predictable vs. spiky workloads.

Simulate traffic with a simple script. Switch between on-demand and provisioned modes and watch how DynamoDB responds.

Initialize a project, install Express, and structure folders for routes, controllers, and services. Ready for DynamoDB integration.

Install the DynamoDB client packages from SDK v3. Configure credentials, region, and connection settings in a reusable module.

Create a working Express app with health-check endpoints, environment config, and nodemon for local development.

Write service functions that insert and retrieve items. Covers marshalling, unmarshalling, and handling SDK responses.

Use the Query command with key condition expressions. Compare it with Scan and understand when each one is appropriate.

Build POST, GET, PUT, and DELETE endpoints. Connect each route to DynamoDB operations and test with Postman or curl.

Add request body validation using Joi schemas. Create reusable middleware that rejects bad input before it reaches DynamoDB.

Catch DynamoDB-specific errors like ConditionalCheckFailedException. Return consistent JSON error responses to clients.

Add validation middleware, error handlers, and structured logging to the task manager. Test edge cases and bad requests.

Enable streams on a table and understand the four view types. Learn how downstream consumers react to inserts, updates, and deletes.

Attach a Lambda function to a DynamoDB stream. Parse event records, filter by operation type, and log meaningful data.

Use TransactWriteItems and TransactGetItems for all-or-nothing operations. Covers limits, conflict handling, and idempotency.

Create a transaction that decrements stock and creates an order record in one call. Handle insufficient stock errors gracefully.

Write condition expressions that prevent overwrites, enforce existence checks, and guard against race conditions.

Add a version attribute to items. Use conditional writes to prevent lost updates when two clients modify the same record.

Why scans are expensive and slow. Techniques to replace scans with queries using better key design and index usage.

Handle LastEvaluatedKey, implement cursor-based pagination in your API, and manage consistent reads across pages.

Add pagination to the task manager API. Return next-cursor tokens, support page sizes, and test with large datasets.

Write IAM policies that restrict access by table, partition key, or attribute. Covers policy variables and condition keys.

Understand AWS-managed keys vs. customer-managed KMS keys. Enable encryption and verify data protection in transit.

Read DynamoDB CloudWatch metrics like ConsumedReadCapacityUnits and ThrottledRequests. Set alarms before costs spike.

How API Gateway, Lambda, and DynamoDB connect in a serverless stack. Covers request flow, cold starts, and deployment basics.

Build a user management API with password hashing, email lookups via GSI, and token-based authentication using Lambda.

Model cart items with composite keys, handle quantity updates, merge guest and authenticated carts, and clear after checkout.

Store time-series sensor readings with device ID as partition key and timestamp as sort key. Batch write for throughput.

Design a messages table for chat rooms. Implement recent-message queries, pagination for history, and DynamoDB Streams for notifications.

Store user sessions with TTL-based expiration. Handle concurrent session limits and invalidate sessions on logout.

Model posts, tags, and author relationships. Support queries by author, by tag, and by publication status using GSIs.

Aggregate daily metrics using atomic counters. Query date ranges for charts and implement efficient rollup patterns.

Walk through a real architecture that handles millions of posts and feed reads. Covers partition strategy, caching, and GSI design.

Why experienced DynamoDB users pack multiple entity types into one table. Covers overloaded keys, access pattern mapping, and tradeoffs.

Build a single-table design for a university system with students, courses, and enrollments. Write all access patterns on one table.

Design for change. How to add new access patterns, migrate data with zero downtime, and avoid common scaling traps.

A concise checklist covering monitoring, backup, on-call runbooks, and recommended resources for continued DynamoDB learning.