DuckDB isn't just fast SQL. It's Python, SQL and compression all in one box.
Published: December 9, 2025
I thought DuckDB was fast SQL with great compression. Speeds are lightning fast - I was happy with that. Then I went through Jasja De Vries's 30-day DuckDB series. Day by day. All 30.
Turns out I was using maybe 10% of what it can do.
My analyst and data scientist friends, DuckDB isn't just fast SQL. It's Python, SQL and compression all in one box.
Features I didn't know existed
- SELECT EXCLUDE -
SELECT * EXCLUDE (col1, col2)- grab everything except specific columns. SQL can't do this - Prefix-aliasing -
total: price * qtyinstead ofprice * qty AS total- name comes first. Reads left-to-right. - Reusable aliases - Define alias in SELECT, use it in WHERE, GROUP BY, ORDER BY. SQL forces you to repeat the expression.
- LIMIT with % -
LIMIT 10%instead of row counts. SQL doesn't have this. - QUALIFY - Filter on window functions directly. SQL requires a nested subquery.
- BY ALL -
GROUP BY ALL,ORDER BY ALL- SQL requires listing every column. - LIST comprehensions -
[x*2 FOR x IN scores IF x > 70]- Python syntax inside SQL. - Lambda functions -
list_filter(arr, x -> x > 10)- SQL has no lambdas. - Dot operator chaining -
price.CAST(FLOAT).ROUND(2)- method chaining like Python. - Glob patterns -
SELECT * FROM 'logs/*.csv'- query 1000 files with one line. - Direct file queries -
SELECT * FROM 'data.parquet'- no CREATE TABLE needed.
If you work with SQL, SAS, or Python for analytics - this series from Jasja fills gaps you didn't know you had.
Full 30-day series: https://eli5.eu/blog/index.html
Amazing work from Jasja.