Database Management Systems: for dummies

Fig 1.Database

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past 60 years, you have heard the word DBMS (Database Management System) and have accessed a database at some point in your life. Seeing that almost every industry uses a Database Management System to organize collected data, they have become a part of our day-to-day life with or without knowledge.

What is a Database Management System?

Consider a retail store setting. The store needs to collect information regarding customers and every transaction they make. So whenever a customer buys a product, it needs to be added to the existing database. Some of the data, like the address of a customer, sometimes will change overtime. And reoccurring customer transactions should be added without duplication. Otherwise the database will be bulky and confusing. Therefore to manage the data obtained is crucial to the existence of the retail store.

Fig 2.Database Management System

A Database Management System is needed to organize the collected data. In a nutshell, a DBMS is a software designed to manage a collection of interrelated data. It facilitates the process of defining, constructing and manipulating databases for various applications.

Choosing the right Database Management System

The first and foremost thing that you need to take into account is the user-friendliness offered by a DBMS and to what extent it can be scaled along with its integration capacity with those products with which it will come in contact. Also you need to have a clear picture of the cost of these management systems and the support that each of them can offer.

Most popular Database Management Systems

Oracle

Fig 3.Oracle Database

Why it is that Oracle is consistently at the top of lists of popular databases?

Pros

• The latest innovations and features coming from their products since Oracle tends to set the bar for other database management tools.
• Oracle database management tools are also incredibly robust, and you can find one that can do just about anything you can possibly think of.
• The newest version of Oracle, 12c, is designed for the cloud and can be hosted on a single server or multiple servers, and it enables the management of databases holding billions of records.
• Some of the features of the latest version of Oracle include a grid framework and the use of both physical and logical structures.
• Security in 12c is excellent because each transaction is isolated from others.

Cons

• The cost of Oracle can be prohibitive, especially for smaller organizations.
• The system can require significant resources once installed, so hardware upgrades may be required to even implement Oracle.

MySQL

Fig 4.MySQL Database

MySQL needs no introduction. Everyone has come across or used it at least once, which makes it one of the most popular databases for web apps.

Pros

• It’s available for free.
• It offers a lot of functionality even for a free database engine.
• There are a variety of user interfaces that can be implemented.
• It can be made to work with other databases, including DB2 and Oracle.

Cons

• You may spend a lot of time and effort to get MySQL to do things that other systems do automatically, like create incremental backups.
• There is no built-in support for XML or OLAP.
• Support is available for the free version, but you’ll need to pay for it.

Microsoft SQL Sever

Fig 5.Microsoft SQL Server Database

Pros

• It is very fast and stable.
• The engine offers the ability to adjust and track performance levels, which can reduce resource use.
• You are able to access visualizations on mobile devices.
• It works very well with other Microsoft products.

Cons

• Enterprise pricing may be beyond what many organizations can afford.
• Even with performance tuning, Microsoft SQL Server can gobble resources.
• Many individuals have issues using the SQL Server Integration Services to import files.

PostgreSQL

Fig 6.PostgreSQL Database

Another popular database on our list is PostgreSQL and interestingly, this would be one of the first database management systems to be developed.

Pros

• This database management engine is scalable and can handle terabytes of data.
• It supports JSON.
• There are a variety of predefined functions.
• A number of interfaces are available.

Cons

• Documentation can be spotty, so you may find yourself searching online in an effort to figure out how to do something.
• Configuration can be confusing.
• Speed may suffer during large bulk operations or read queries.

MongoDB

Fig 7.MongoDB Database

Pros

• It’s fast and easy to use.
• The engine supports JSON and other NoSQL documents.
• Data of any structure can be stored and accessed quickly and easily.
• Schema can be written without downtime.

Cons

• SQL is not used as a query language.
• Tools to translate SQL to MongoDB queries are available, but they add an extra step to using the engine.
• Setup can be a lengthy process.
• Default settings are not secure.

Database Ranking

Fig 8.Data source: Google Trends (https://www.google.com/trends).

Each DBMS have their own uniqueness. Which Database Management System do you think is the best? And why?

Let me know in the comments.