Databases, much like plumbing systems, can be likened to one another. A homeowner, much like a user, may only comprehend the database’s external configuration, yet this construction remains vital for their daily functions. The dependability of the database is critical for the system’s success.
The US Bureau of Labor reveals that the information technology industry has a substantial job growth of 9% annually, including database administrators. This abundance of career options might pique the interest of those commencing their journey in this field, as they may wish to learn about the widely used databases by IT firms.
The following list is stimulated by the annual developer survey on Stack Overflow. It’s crucial to note that this list is not comprehensive, and the sequence can change depending on the specialisation. Nonetheless, it’s challenging to disregard the fact that the databases enumerated below commonly appear in the top 10 lists.
The escalating adoption of NoSQL databases by organisations is attributed to their cost-effective and scalable nature. This continuous expansion corroborates their rising admiration.
Elasticsearch
Implemented By: The New York Times, Wikipedia, the Mayo Clinic, eBay, and Cisco all hold a significant place in the implementation of these databases.
Based on the Lucene library, Elasticsearch is a commonly employed open-source search and analytic engine. It’s drafted in Java and is constructed as an HTTP-based full-text multi-tenant search engine, with advanced features to expedite and optimise real-time queries precisely. It has the ability to process both structured and unstructured data formats of integers, floats, texts, dates, geographic coordinates, and various other data types.
Contrary to its name, a public database can carry out all the fundamental processes of a conventional database, including analysis, search, observability and security. As it is openly accessible and free of charge, it proves to be an economical option for numerous schemes.
Firebase
Adopted By: In association with Google and
Firebase Realtime Database is one of the Google Fire tools available, which employs a cloud-based system to store documents and has clients specifically for iOS, Android, and JavaScript devices. Users can access the most recent data by linking their system to a central database.
Firebase’s infrastructure that’s cloud-based makes it an optimal alternative for serverless applications as it permits the local storage of substantial information caches to inhibit data loss momentarily when there’s an internet interruption. Moreover, the requirement for additional hardware won’t obstruct the scaling of a project.
However, obtaining a business license makes Firebase one of the most expensive options here.
Oracle
Implemented By: Honeywell, Samsung Electronics, Wells Fargo, and PNC Bank
With over four decades of experience as a provider of database solutions, Oracle is listed as one of the most expert databases in the industry. It’s highly regarded as a reliable and efficient tool for data warehousing and online transaction processing.
Oracle’s services are customisable based on the customer’s requirements, offering a choice of local, cloud or hybrid deployment options. It extends support for a wide variety of data types ranging from relational to unstructured and proves to be consistent with the most commonly employed programming languages.
Oracle’s two main drawbacks are its high cost and intricate complexity. Thus, it takes a considerable amount of time to gain proficiency in Oracle and server administration. Nevertheless, the pros of using this tool outweigh the effort involved.
MariaDB
Implemented By: AWS, Azure, RHEL, and Ubuntu
MariaDB, an open-source database, was developed by the original creators of MySQL, and is said to provide better scalability, security, availability, and a range of tools and services suitable for larger enterprises than its predecessor. In a rather interesting history, a group of engineers created this fork after Oracle’s acquisition of MySQL to guarantee that MySQL remained freely accessible to the public.
MariaDB was designed to be an uncomplicated alternative to MySQL, and therefore, changing between the two only necessitates uninstalling MySQL, replacing it with MariaDB, and executing the command line.
It supports all the commonly used programming languages and can operate with any server OS.
Redis
Implemented By: Weibo, Pinterest, Snapchat, Craigslist, and Twitter
For key-value Open Source databases, the Remote Dictionary Server is the most widely used database. Salvatore Sanfilippo initially created it to support his own business, and since then, it has grown to become a fundamental database for those who require quick data retrieval and simple deployment.
Redis differs from other key-value databases because it can persist data. Redis stores data on the disk and can be used to recover it as needed. Some of the typical uses of Redis include session management, page caching, message queues, and leaderboards.
MongoDB
Implemented By: Stack, Uber, and Lyft.
MongoDB is widely regarded as the standard NoSQL database in the industry, and the developers’ statement is justified. MongoDB drives document-oriented databases predominantly and its most significant advantage is its capability to operate without pre-defined schema design.
MongoDB has demonstrated its exceptional speed through benchmarks that are impressive when compared to its competitors. Its open-source nature also makes it simple to grasp and configure, which has added to its rapid growth in popularity.
SQLite
Implemented By: Internet Brands, Inc. and Oberlin University. Companies like Adobe, Airbus, and Apple.
SQLite is the sole Relationship Database Management System (RDBMS) on our list that is not a client-server engine. It is frequently utilised as a C library in the final product, making it a perfect option when a relational database is necessary, but server access is not available. For instance, Firefox utilises SQLite to save data like preferences, history, and bookmarked websites.
SQLite is a valuable asset for programmers who aim to develop locally-hosted applications that need data processing, such as financial analysis tools or data analysis software.
Microsoft SQL Server
Implemented By: Companies such as Wells Fargo, Harris, GE, and Yahoo.
Microsoft SQL Server has been a staple since 1981 and is extensively used for its potent capabilities. While it may seem complicated at first, Microsoft has created the SQL portfolio to be user-friendly, similar to Windows. By simply recognising the features they require, each client can find an appropriate product to fit their needs. In this instance, less is more.
Microsoft has always prioritized ease of use for its services. This offering is one of the easiest installations available, and its cloud-based solution, Azure, is one of the most advanced solutions for developers and businesses.
PostgreSQL
Implemented By: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Google+
PostgreSQL originated from the Ingres database engine developed at the University of California, and it has seen a consistent increase in popularity and support. It is now one of the most widely used open-source relational databases.
The success of this engine can be attributed to its ability to ensure ACID transactions, which is made possible through a range of innovative techniques, including its capacity to offer concurrent support for multiple versions.
PostgreSQL has fostered a robust and supportive community in the Information Technology industry, making it a simple option for the majority of engineers to learn.
MySQL
Implemented By: A vast majority of individuals…
Many people expected MySQL to emerge as the winner due to its stellar reputation. It was first introduced in 1995 and is coded in C++; it is widely regarded as the leading database engine available.
MySQL has a massive and active community that consistently develops and improves the software. It is renowned for its reliability, scalability, speed, and security. Although Oracle currently owns MySQL, users can select between an open-source and a proprietary license based on their specific requirements.
Database Technology of the Future…
The growing appeal of big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning is evident. While these technologies have tremendous potential, it is vital that we recognize the significant role precise and dependable data plays in their success.
Thus, as technology continues to progress, database administration is crucial in preserving data integrity while also providing effective storage and retrieval solutions for managing enormous amounts of data that were previously deemed impracticable.
Every database discussed has its individual strengths and weaknesses intended to tackle a specific set of challenges. As technology evolves, we can expect the emergence of new methods to address changing trends.
