Relational database, why do we need a relational database, what is normalization, what is SQL, Advantages and disadvantages of relational database
RELATIONAL DATABASE
In this blog, we will discuss what a relational database is and some of the advantages and limitations of a relational database?
A relational database is a system built for data storage and retrieval based on the relational model. A relational database is a place to store and organizes data according to predefined relationships. In the relational model, data is organized into a series of tables with rows and columns of data. Each row in a table is uniquely identified by a primary key. Also, a row can contain many columns like the typical design of a spreadsheet row. Each of these columns has a unique data type such as an integer date or string. Tables are then related to each other by establishing relationships using foreign keys.
If you look at the following example, this is
a design of a very simple database with two tables that are related to each
other. This diagram is called an entity-relationship diagram. It is used by database
designers to develop and document these types of systems. In this example,
there is a base table called a customer that contains the customer’s name and
address. Also, there is an order table that contains order information for
various customers a diagram indicates that there is a one-to-many relationship
between the customer and the order. ER diagrams allow designers to design and
document complex database designs and share the relationship between tables. A
large database may contain hundreds of tables with many complex relationships.
Why do we need a relational database?
Let’s say you own a shop whenever you take an order
for arrangements. There are several pieces of data you collect like customer’s
name, e-mail address, phone number, shipping address, shipping type, and order.
Before you start entering information in a relational database you save it all
in a spreadsheet. This works fine for a while but after you started doing more
business. You ran into some problems.
Problem 1: Data Redundancy
A lot of the data you generated was redundant. So the
same customer placed any order you recorded their information again. This leads
to storing repeated information.
Problem 2: Data Accuracy
The spreadsheet won’t be accurate. People may enter wrong
data in some other’s details.
Problem 3: Discovering Insights
You generally enter a lot more data than you
anticipated. Not only does this slow down your spreadsheet application. But it might
be difficult to answer your data in reports and insights.
After noticing the problem, you ran into spreadsheets.
You decided to move to a relational database. Using a relational database
solved many of the problems you had with spreadsheets and helps you work more
efficiently. A relational database eliminates redundancy through the process
called normalization.
What is Normalization?
Normalization is the process used to design relational databases. The process was developed by Codd. It is a systematic way to decompose the design of the data into corresponding tables and relationships. Each step of this process is used to develop a relational model that describes a system being modeled and removes redundancies in the data and makes it consistent. Normalization is the process the database designers use to develop and refine relational models for production database systems.
Normalization moves separate data points into their tables
and consolidates duplicate pieces of data. Instead of putting all the data, you
gather orders into a single spreadsheet. The relational database organizes your
data into separate tables for your custom products in order. If an old customer
in a database place a new order it gets filed in a single data point i.e. Customer_ID
instead of creating other duplicate records of information. Normalization also
helps you to reduce errors. Since old customer information is contained in a
single record, we don’t have to worry about someone misspelling the name.
Finally, it is much easier to generate reports with your data and discover
insights. This is because relational databases make queries and ask questions
every day called SQL structured query language. SQL act as an interface for
asking queries of a database. You can also purchase relational database
software tools.
What is SQL?
At the heart of relational databases is SQL or structured query language. A structured query language is a basic language used to define the language and processing for relational databases. SQL provides a way to design tables and relationships in a complete data definition language. The addition of SQL provides a data manipulation or DML to allow programmers to insert data fleet data and query the system for results. SQL is evolved over the years to become a robust programming language. There are ISO and ANSI standard versions of SQL that are in the industry today. These designs are all based on a technique called normalization.
What is the history of the relational database?
The
term relational database was invented by E.F. Codd while working at IBM in 1970.
Codd developed much of the underlying theory of how relational databases would function. He developed the relational model that describes how databases are to be
composed of entities and relationships. In the basic theory of how to query
data from these systems using the relational model. In 1979, Oracle delivered
the first commercial relational database system. Their business grew fast and today Oracle is one of the largest we're companies in the world. And the Oracle
database is still one of the market leaders. Another relational database is followed by other vendors delivering products including products from ivory,
IBM, and Microsoft.
What are the advantages of a relational database?
Relational
databases have many advantages. One of the primary advantages is they've been
around for quite some time. And they represent a stable well-known technology. Database
management is part of a routine computer-science curriculum. And finding skilled
programmers that understand the database, design, and implementation is not
difficult to find.
Another
major advantage is most commercial database management systems generally
include a well-defined robust security model. Almost all software systems need extensive security systems. In relational databases offer these as an
out-of-the-box configuration item. Also, to these features, relational database
systems are designed to efficiently store and eliminate data redundancies. This
is part of the normalization process that developed a design of relational
databases. This allows software developers to design complex systems based on
these designs. Also, commercial database management systems can scale to handle
massive amounts of data. Many of today's data-driven websites have relational databases
as back-end systems to store and process transactions as they come in over the
web.
Another
major advantage of these systems is they provide very fast retrieval times. Even
if the database is very large.
What are the disadvantages of a relational database?
With
all the advanced features that most commercial database systems offer they can
become quite expensive to buy and deploy. Although there are many open-source
relational database systems large corporations still depend on commercial software
from leading vendors such as Oracle, Microsoft, and IBM. As your system scale
up the software licensing and support cost can become quite expensive. Also to
the licensing costs of the design of large-scale databases can be expensive. If a
large system consists of hundreds or even thousands of tables this can be a long
and expensive process to design and maintain such a system. Skilled database designers
and database administrators command high salaries in today's market. So a long
process of design and maintenance will be an expensive project for most
organizations.
Another
problem with the design of most software systems. Today is they are based on the
relational model is that they can be difficult once they are in production. Oftentimes
in large systems, it can be expensive and difficult to add even a single column
to an existing table. But even with these limitations relational databases
still dominate the landscape of large-scale storage systems for software
applications.
Other
technologies are also on the market. Such as object-oriented databases,
databases, and NoSQL databases. But until these technologies mature relational
databases will continue to dominate the market.
What are the major database vendors in the market today?
Major
vendors in the systems of a relational database are more and more offerings
every day. But the dominant players in today’s market are Oracle, Microsoft,
and IBM which represent the leading contenders in the market today. These
vendors offer cloud-based versions of their databases to offer customers
options to lower operating costs and more flexibility. The market will continue
to evolve as this technology changes and cloud-based systems continue to mature.
Conclusion
Relational databases remain a large and important part of the information technology business. Many companies will continue to design and operate relational databases this key parts of their IT infrastructure. Relational databases will continue to evolve as the market changes and more companies move to cloud-based technologies. Some of the most popular relational database solutions include MySQL, SAP, Microsoft Access, Amazon relational database service, and IBM TB2. Choosing a solution depends on your features wants, company size, and budget, so make sure you take the time to research your options.
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