I've been a Software Developer now for over 10 years. I've mostly worked in Embedded C with some time spent on C++ (limited) and Java. I'm looking to learn some new technologies and skills. I thought that database programming may be interesting to learn. I would like to make my own pet project in order to learn these things. My platform of choice is Windows but can work in Linux also. My ideal pet project would involve a GUI and some network/internet programming also which I have some experience doing. I wouldn't mind getting into C# but don't want to bite off more than I can chew right now as my spare time is limited. If I understand correctly SQLite allows for programs to use a database without running an ODBC server. Is this correct? Is that a good place to start? What can I do to start that is not too complicated but not so simple that I won't learn the details also? Your opinions and feedback would be appreciated.