What is a database?
A database is a form in which information is managed, typically representing a digital hub or a cloud. By database definition, it is data management software that uses a standardized structure to make it easy to store, retrieve, and analyze information.
Databases act as a central hub where information can be stored securely and accessed by different applications and users. Database software enables both enterprises and individuals to store, find, and employ data effectively, allowing them to make more informed decisions and derive insights from their data.
What type of information is stored in a database?
Different types of databases can be customized to store specific information based on the needs of the organization or application using the database software.
By the form, databases can store
- textual data: Documents, articles, reports, emails, etc.;
- image-oriented data: Images, infographics, diagrams, etc;
- audio and video data: Phone call recordings, voice recordings, music files, video clips, advertisements, etc.;
- files of different formats: Word, PDF, Excel, etc.
With all these types of information, database software can be tailored to specific business needs. Thus, in a business database, you can manage the different kinds of information, including but not limited to
- personal data: Users’ and customers’ names, addresses, contact details, and identification numbers;
- financial data: Transactions, account balances, invoices, and payment records;
- business data: Product information, sales records, customer orders, and inventory;
- social data: User profiles, social media interactions, and connections;
- environmental data: Sensor readings, stock market data, and weather data.
Types of databases
Before deciding which database to choose, it’s essential to understand the main database types and their distinctive features. Here are some of the most widespread database examples so far:
- Relational databases – In this kind of database, data is classified into tables with set links between them. For data management, the Structured Query Language (SQL) is used.
- NoSQL databases – Opposite to the previous type, they provide flexible, schema-less storage for unstructured or semi-structured data.
- Object-oriented databases – Store objects with attributes and behaviors, allowing intricate data structures and inheritance relationships.
- Distributed databases – Span across multiple networked computers, sharing data processing and storage for scalability and robustness.
- Data warehouses – Centralize and integrate data from various sources for prompt analysis and reporting.
- Graph databases – Represent data using nodes and edges to sketch relationships, ideal for analyzing complex interconnections.
Apart from these popular types of databases that have been in use for decades, there are also modern ones, such as cloud, multimodel, self-driving, and open-source databases.
Database challenges
Database administrators face numerous challenges in managing large enterprise databases. On the one hand, when considering data management as it is, they must handle the exponential increase in data volume of various origins while ensuring data security in the face of increasing threats. Consequently, with databases expanding and getting more complex, their maintenance gets more complicated and costly.
At the same time, from the perspective of interaction with clients, it is important to align with the growing requirements of businesses, ensuring real-time access, data sovereignty, and nearly limitless scalability.
How do you choose a database for your app?
Here are 5 leading questions to answer when evaluating how to choose the best database for your project:
- Which data will the chosen database process? – It is the primary question to be answered, as specific types of data are subject to different types of databases. For instance, whether your data is structured, semi-structured, or unstructured, will define whether you need an SQL or a NoSQL database.
- In which way will the project grow in the future? – The type of scalability you choose for your project – horizontal or vertical – will require a specific database that will suit your growth needs.
- Which level of security should the database provide? – If security has a priority, for instance, over scalability, you might want to choose relational databases.
- What other tools are used in the project? – A database should harmonically co-exist with other services you use, so you need to proceed from initial solutions to ensure database integration.
- How will the stored data get analyzed? – To make sure you can perform quality analytics, identify the type of data to be analyzed and then build your database upon this starting point.