## Overview

TiDB is a distributed, cloud-native, and horizontally scalable database that supports hybrid transactional and analytical processing (HTAP). For application developers, TiDB is a database that is always available, reliable, and capable of scaling without limits.

+ In this lab, you will learn how to:
  + Connect to, access and modify data in TiDB Cloud Starter cluster by Python code.
  + Use prepared statements and batch inserts to improve the performance of your application.
  + Use `AUTO_RANDOM` instead of `AUTO_INCREMENT` to avoid hotspots.
  + Use online DDL to add columns to a table without blocking or interrupting ongoing transactions.
  + Use and compare pessimistic and optimistic modes for concurrency control.

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> [!NOTE]
> Please be sure to read the following information before starting the lab.
> + This lab only supports Chrome browser.
> + In this lab, you will work with a web-based VS Code. Using a web-based IDE is NOT compulsory in TiDB. However, it is a common approach in cloud database collaborations. By deploying a developer client close to the cloud database, we can better simulate the application server's real-world behavior and network conditions.

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> [!TIP]
> Click **Start** to launch the lab environment.
> Once the environment is ready, the resources assigned to your hands-on session will be populated with the actual values, so you can follow the lab guide step-by-step to complete the practice.