If you spend any amount of time on a computer, you probably interact with databases several times a day, or sometimes even several times an hour. Databases power everything from banking software to scientific research to government records, as well as the websites you use every day, such as Amazon , YouTube , Netflix , and Wikipedia . In fact, if you found this page through an Internet search engine, your query was powered by a (huge) database. But databases aren't just for large websites that serve thousands of users a day, they can also be used by small businesses , or by a small group of people.
The reason databases are so common, for both large and french email address list use cases, is because they make accessing information through a computer much easier. If you work with information on a daily basis, and many of us do, it's worth understanding what a database is and its types. And once you understand what a database is, you might even want to build your own or even become a professional data scientist , where manipulating and building these databases is a common occurrence.
Database what is it:
To really understand why a database is needed, it is important to first talk about its definition.
A database is a logically organized collection of information, made in such a way that the information can be accessed later with a computer program.
Here’s another way to think about databases: A computer is a device that allows you to manipulate information, whether that information is in the form of words, numbers, images, or videos. However, the computer needs to store that information before it can be referenced or changed, and it also needs to make sure that you find the right information at the right time. Databases are how computers solve both of these problems.
By definition, data within a database must be organized according to a consistent set of logical principles. The term data model describes the logical structure of a database, which determines the rules for how the information within it can be organized and manipulated. There are several types of databases, which are classified according to their defined data models. For example, the most popular data model, the relational data model, organizes data into related two-dimensional tables, while the graph data model organizes information into nodes (points) and edges (the lines that connect those points).
Database models
Some abstract representations of data models: hierarchical data model (top left), network data model (top right), relational data model (bottom left), graph data model (bottom right).
Different types of data models have different pros and cons depending on what you’re trying to build. If you’re trying to build a database with a high degree of data integrity that can scale flexibly, a relational database will probably work best; but if you need a database that can handle large volumes of data, a graph database might be a good option.
The implementation of a data model in a particular database is called the database schema . You can think of a database schema as a blueprint for a building, describing the details of how the building should be constructed, except in this case it would be a database and how it would be implemented—such as the required data types and other constraints. A database schema is where it differs from a list or a spreadsheet: with a schema, you can be sure that the data in your database will be organized according to a set of rules, simply because it should be done that way.