DynamoDB Developer Playbook

A practical, production-grade guide to Amazon DynamoDB—from modeling to launch.
This playbook blends core concepts, repeatable patterns, and ready-to-use assets (diagrams, queries, checklists, sample data).

Start with Concepts, explore the Examples, and use Checklists before shipping.

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Quick Nav

• Concepts & Structure
• Raw Assets & Downloads
• Production Checklists

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Quick Start (5 minutes)

1. Skim Concepts → PK/SK, item collections, LSI vs GSI, idempotent writes.
2. Open an example and browse Samples:
   • E-commerce → Samples · Access Patterns · Diagrams · Queries
   • Social/Feed → Samples · Access Patterns · Diagrams · Queries
3. Copy payloads from queries.http and run against your AWS account.
4. Before prod, run Production Checklists.

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Examples

• E-commerce
  Model: orders, lines, payments, shipments, inventory.
  
  Paths: GSI1 OrdersByUser, GSI2 OrdersByStatus, conditional inventory updates.
  
  Open: Overview · Samples · Access Patterns · Diagrams · Queries

• Social / Activity Feed
  Model: posts, likes, comments, tags, followers, notifications.
  
  Paths: GSI1 PostsByAuthor, GSI2 PostsByTag, GSI3 FeedByUser, fan-out/sharding.
  
  Open: Overview · Samples · Access Patterns · Diagrams · Queries

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What’s inside

• Mermaid diagrams: access-pattern matrices + key-design cheat sheets for both examples.
• Sample data: CSV + JSONL seeds to test queries quickly.
• HTTP queries: SigV4-ready .http payloads for Get/Query/Put/Update with conditions.
• Checklists: design, cost & alarms, security/IAM, ops/observability, DR/backup, migration & evolution.

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How to use this playbook

1. List access patterns and SLAs; design keys first (generic PK, SK; decorate values: USER#42, ORDER#123).
2. Ensure hot paths are Get/Query (no Scan). Add LSIs/GSIs only where needed.
3. Prototype with Samples; exercise queries.http; confirm RCUs/WCUs and item sizes.
4. Ship with guardrails: run the checklists and set alarms/dashboards.

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