intro database
intro database
Introduction
A database is a collection of data or records. Database management systems are designed to
manage databases. A database management system (DBMS) is a software system that uses a
standard method to store and organize data. The data can be added, updated, deleted, or traversed
using standard algorithms and queries.
1. Hierarchical databases
2. Network databases
3. Relational databases
4. Object-oriented databases
5. Graph databases
6. ER model databases
7. Document databases
8. NoSQL databases
Hierarchical Databases
Data is stored in a parent-children relationship node in a hierarchical database management system
(hierarchical DBMS) Model. In a hierarchical database, besides actual data, records also contain
information about their groups of parent/child relationships. Continue reading about Hierarchical
Databases in detail.
In a hierarchical database model, data is organized into a tree-like structure. The data is stored in
the form of a collection of fields where each field contains only one value. The records are linked to
each other via links into a parent-children relationship. In a hierarchical database model, each child
record has only one parent. A parent can have multiple children.
To retrieve a field's data, we need to traverse through each tree until the record is found.
Hierarchical databases are used to build high-performance and availability applications, usually in
the banking and telecommunications industries. IBM developed the hierarchical database system
structure in the early 1960s. At the same time, the hierarchical structure is simple but inflexible due
to the parent-child one-to-many relationship.
The IBM Information Management System (IMS) and Windows Registry are famous examples of
hierarchical databases.
Advantages of Hierarchical Database
A hierarchical database can be accessed and updated rapidly. As shown in the figure above, its
model structure is like a tree, and the relationships between records are defined in advance. This
feature is a double-edged sword.
Network Databases
Network database management systems (Network DBMSs) use a network structure to create a
relationship between entities. Network databases are mainly used on large digital computers.
Network databases are hierarchical, but unlike hierarchical databases, where one node can have a
single parent only, a network node can have a relationship with multiple entities. A network database
looks more like a cobweb or interconnected network of records. Continue reading about the Network
database in detail.
In network databases, children are called members, and parents are called occupiers. The
difference between each child or member is that it can have more than one parent.
The approval of the network data model is similar to a hierarchical data model. Data in a network
database is organized in many-to-many relationships.
Charles Bachman invented the network database structure. Some popular network databases are
the Integrated Data Store (IDS), IDMS (Integrated Database Management System), Raima
Database Manager, TurboIMAGE, and Univac DMS-1100.
Relational Databases
In a relational database management system (RDBMS), the relationship between data is relational
and stored in tabular form of columns and rows. Each table column represents an attribute, and
each Row in a table represents a record. Each field in a table represents a data value.
Structured Query Language (SQL) is used to query RDBMS, including inserting, updating, deleting,
and searching records. Relational databases work on each table with a key field that uniquely
indicates each Row. These key fields can be used to connect one table of data to another.
Relational databases are the most popular and widely used databases. Some popular DDBMS are
Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, SQLite, and IBM DB2.
Object-oriented databases use small, recyclable separated from software called objects. The objects
themselves are stored in the object-oriented database.
Object-oriented database management systems (OODBMs) were created in the early 1980s. Some
OODBMs were designed to work with OOP languages such as Delphi, Ruby, C++, Java, and
Python. Some popular OODBMs are TORNADO, Gemstone, ObjectStore, GBase, VBase,
InterSystems Cache, Versant Object Database, ODABA, ZODB, and Poet. JADE, and Informix.
Graph Databases
Graph Databases are NoSQL databases and use a graph structure for semantic
queries. The data is stored as nodes, edges, and properties. In a graph database, a
Node represents an entity or instance, such as a customer, person, or car. A node is
equivalent to a record in a relational database system. An Edge in a graph database
represents a relationship that connects nodes. Properties are additional information
added to the nodes.
Neo4j, Azure Cosmos DB, SAP HANA, Sparks, Oracle Spatial and Graph, OrientDB,
ArrangoDB, and MarkLogic are famous graph databases. The graph database structure
is also supported by some RDBMS, including Oracle and SQL Server 2017 and later
versions.
There are dozens of graph databases in the market. Check out The Most Popular
Graph Databases here. To continue learning about Graph Databases, read What a
Graph Database is and Why do we a Graph Database.
ER Model Databases
An ER model is typically implemented as a database. In a simple relational database
implementation, each table Row represents one instance of an entity type, and each
field in a table represents an attribute type. In a relational database, a relationship
between entities is implemented by storing the primary key of one entity as a pointer or
"foreign key" in the table of another entity.
Document Databases
Document databases (Document DB) are also NoSQL databases that store data as
documents. Each document represents the data, its relationship with other data
elements, and its attributes of data. Document database store data in a key-value form.
Document DB has become popular recently due to its document storage and NoSQL
properties. NoSQL data storage provides a faster mechanism to store and search
documents.
Continue reading. What is a Document Database, and What are the most popular
document DBs?
NoSQL Databases
NoSQL databases do not use SQL as their primary data access language. A graph
database, network database, object database, and document databases are common
NoSQL databases. Here is an article on Introduction to NoSQL Databases. This article
answers the question, what is a NoSQL database?
NoSQL database does not have predefined schemas, which makes NoSQL databases
a perfect candidate for rapidly changing development environments.
NoSQL allows developers to make changes on the fly without affecting applications.
NoSQL databases can be categorized into the following five major categories: Column,
Document, Graph, Key-value, and Object.
1. Cosmos DB
2. ArangoDB
3. Couchbase Server
4. CouchDB
5. Amazon DocumentDB
6. MongoDB, CouchBase
7. Elasticsearch
8. Informix
9. SAP HANA
10. Neo4j
What are NoSQL Databases?
NoSQL databases have grown in popularity recently, and plenty of jobs are available.
Continue reading and learn more about the most popular NoSQL databases here.
Summary
This article discussed various types of databases and their examples. Next
reading: What Is The Most Popular Database In the World?