Data Foundry
A 16-module data-engineering course that runs in the browser.
What it is for
Most data-engineering material is a pile of tutorials with no order and no proof that anything was learned. Data Foundry is the opposite: sixteen modules in the order a data team uses them — Python, SQL, pandas, APIs, ETL/ELT, Git/Linux/Docker, Airflow, PySpark, cloud warehousing, dbt and Kafka — with 240 questions and a pass mark that gates the next module.
Who it is for
Students, analysts and career-switchers who can write a query but need the engineering around it: pipelines, orchestration, warehouses and the tools a data team runs in production.
How to use it
- 1
Start at Python and work through the modules in the recommended order. The sidebar shows which module is unlocked and which is still gated.
- 2
Read the lesson and its topic tree, then use the SQL workspace to run the reference queries against a real in-browser database.
- 3
Finish the 15-question module check with at least 10 correct to unlock the next module.
- 4
Use the roadmap for the full topic map and the data dictionary to check the tables the lessons query.
- 5
Progress is saved in this browser, so closing the tab does not lose the modules already passed.
Why not something else
Each row names the thing you would otherwise install, because “better” is meaningless without saying better than what.
| If you would otherwise use | What changes with Data Foundry |
|---|---|
| Video course platforms | Every module ends in a check you have to pass. Watching a video is not evidence; answering 10 of 15 questions on the actual material is. |
| A folder of tutorials | The modules follow the order a data team uses them, from Python and SQL through orchestration and warehousing, rather than whatever topic was easiest to record next. |
| Paid bootcamps | The whole course is free, needs no account, and runs in the browser. Progress lives on your own machine. |
What's inside
16 modules, 240 questions
Fifteen questions per module, a 10/15 pass mark, and sequential unlocking so a later module does not open before the current one is passed.
The real stack order
Python, SQL, pandas, APIs, ETL/ELT, Git/Linux/Docker, Airflow, PySpark, cloud warehousing, dbt, Kafka and the advanced topics that follow.
Runnable SQL
The SQL modules use a real in-browser database, so the reference queries execute instead of being screenshots.
Lesson trees and topic maps
Every module has a lesson tree, and the roadmap expands the topic map for all sixteen.
Progress that survives
Module results and unlocks are stored locally in the browser; no account, no server, no email.
What it doesn't do
Stated here rather than left to be discovered after installing.
- Progress is per browser. Clearing site data or switching devices starts the course again.
- The module checks verify understanding; there is no graded project or human feedback.
- The course teaches the tools, not a specific employer's stack or runbook.
Get Data Foundry
Free to use in the browser, with no account needed.
Need one built for you?
Data Foundry is one of a small number of products built at SmallTown Studio. If you have a specific problem that an off-the-shelf app does not solve, describe it and you will get an honest answer on whether it is worth building.