School of Information Systems

What is Database? (Part 2)

14 Sep 2018

Pros of NoSQL/NewSQL

  • Very fast (NoSQL) 
  • Not requiring fixed table schemas (NoSQL) 
  • Scales horizontally (NoSQL) 
  • Stronger consistency (NewSQL) 
  • Full transactional support possible (NewSQL)

 Cons of NoSQL/NewSQL

  • Not transactional/ACID (NoSQL) 
  • Can get messy (NoSQL) 
  • Not offering as many development tools as SQL (NewSQL)

Excel: Databases or spreadsheets?

Let’s get back to the relational databases. Based on the assumption relational databases take the form of tables made of columns and rows, is Excel a database? If you want a real entertaining discussion, drop this question to a bunch of programmers. I suggest you run in the other direction, as it may get real ugly! Most of us will agree that even if Excel and its spreadsheets can be extremely useful, they’re not databases. If we look at it objectively, Excel creates spreadsheets. Spreadsheets are in fact tables made of columns and rows. It’s the table format that tends to confuse people into thinking that spreadsheets are relational databases. We already agreed on the fact that databases are used for data management. Spreadsheets don’t go as far and are mostly used for data storage and analysis.

Pros of using Excel

  • Ease of use
  • Short learning curve
  • No programming skills needed
  • Perfect for numerical data
  • Perfect to manage small pools of data
  • Great for data analysis
  • Inexpensive solution

Cons of using Excel

  • Static
  • Only one user at a time can update data
  • Substantial spreadsheets will eventually become tougher to manage and lead to errors in the data
  • One action could break something somewhere without the users realizing it
  • Data stored on your computer (hard drive) versus databases (servers)

Example

Example of Database Software Oracle Database Oracle began its journey in 1979 as the first commercially available relational database management system (RDBMS). Oracle’s name is synonymous with enterprise database systems, unbreakable data delivery and fierce corporate competition from CEO Larry Ellison. Powerful but complex database solutions are the mainstay of this Fortune 500 company. The current release of Oracle’s RDBMS is Oracle 12c. The “c” stands for cloud and is reflective of Oracle’s work in extending its enterprise RDBMS to enable firms to consolidate and manage databases as cloud services when needed via Oracle’s multitenant architecture and in-memory data processing capabilities. Oracle 12c Release 1 will be fully supported by Oracle through the end of July, 2018.

Reference : https://www.kohezion.com/blog/4-examples-database-application/

 

Created by : Christoper Joshua | 1801412215

Lecturer : Marisa Karsen/D4639

Marisa Karsen
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