Vector Databases: A Practical Introduction

by Nitin Borwankar

The AI revolution is here, and at its core lies a game-changing technology that most developers haven’t fully explored: vector databases. From powering semantic search to enabling large language models (LLMs) and generative AI, vector databases are reshaping how we build applications with unstructured data like text, images, and audio. But how do you go from curious to capable with this vital technology? That’s where this book comes in.

In this hands-on guide, author Nitin Borwankar takes you through the “why, what, and how” of vector databases, starting with the basic theory behind vector embeddings and progressing to building applications with real-world tools. You’ll learn about Word2vec, how to convert open source SQL databases like SQLite3 and PostgreSQL into vector databases, and integrate them into retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) applications. Whether you’re a Python developer, data engineer, or ML practitioner, this book gives you the foundation to leverage vector databases confidently in your AI projects.

Understand the connection between vector databases, embeddings, and LLMs
Learn practical approaches for transforming SQL databases into vector databases
Build RAG applications for both personal and enterprise use
Apply vector databases to solve real-world AI challenges
Learn how to use vector databases with LLMs to build applications