It is possible to draw similarities between databases and the plumbing system. A user, similar to a homeowner, may only have a limited understanding of the database’s internal structure; however, this structure is essential for their daily tasks. The success of the system is dependent upon the reliability of the database.
According to the US Bureau of Labor, there is an annual growth of 9% in jobs for database administrators within the information technology sector. With such a wealth of opportunities available, those starting out in this field may be curious as to what the most common databases utilised by IT organisations are.
The annual developer poll on Stack Overflow provided the impetus for the compilation of the following list. It should be noted that this is by no means an exhaustive list and the order may vary depending on the field of study. Nevertheless, it is difficult to deny that the databases discussed below are usually featured in the top 10 rankings.
NoSQL databases are increasingly being adopted by businesses, due to their scalability and cost-effectiveness. This steady growth in the industry is testament to their growing popularity.
Elasticsearch
To Be Applied by: The New York Times, Wikipedia, the Mayo Clinic, eBay, and Cisco all feature prominently.
Elasticsearch is a widely-used open-source search and analytics engine based on the Lucene library. It is written in Java and is designed to be a multi-tenant, HTTP-based full-text search engine with optimisations for speed and accuracy in real-time queries. It is able to handle integers, floats, texts, dates, geographic coordinates and other data types in both structured and unstructured forms.
Despite its name suggesting otherwise, a public database is capable of performing all the functions of a traditional database, such as search, analysis, observability and security. Due to its free and public nature, it is a cost-effective choice for many projects.
Firebase
To Be Applied by: Affiliated with Google and
Firebase Realtime Database is one of the Google Fire tools. It is a cloud-based system that stores documents and has clients for iOS, Android and JavaScript devices. By connecting to a central database, users can ensure they have access to the latest data.
Firebase’s cloud-based infrastructure makes it an ideal choice for serverless applications, as it allows for the storing of a cache of relevant information locally to prevent data loss in the event of a client’s temporary disconnection from the internet. Furthermore, the scalability of a project is not hindered by the need for additional hardware.
But because it requires a business license, Firebase is one of the priciest choices here.
Oracle
To Be Applied by: Honeywell, Samsung Electronics, Wells Fargo, and PNC Bank
Oracle, a well-established provider of database solutions for over four decades, is amongst the most experienced databases on our list. It has earned a reputation as a reliable and efficient tool for online transaction processing and data warehousing.
Oracle’s services can be tailored to the needs of the customer, with deployment options of local, cloud or hybrid. It provides support for a wide range of data types, from relational to unstructured, as well as compatibility with the most popular programming languages.
Oracle’s elevated cost and intricate complexity are its two main disadvantages. As such, it takes some time to become competent in Oracle and server administration. However, the advantages of this outweigh the effort required.
MariaDB
To Be Applied by: AWS, Azure, RHEL, and Ubuntu
MariaDB, an open-source database developed by the original creators of MySQL, has been claimed to offer superior scalability, security, availability and a suite of tools and services catered to larger organisations when compared to its predecessor. MariaDB has an interesting history; following Oracle’s acquisition of MySQL, a group of engineers created this fork to ensure that MySQL remained accessible to the public.
MariaDB was created to be a straightforward substitute for MySQL, meaning that changing between the two should require nothing more than uninstalling MySQL, replacing it with MariaDB, and then executing the command line.
The most common programming languages are all supported, and it works with any server OS.
Redis
To Be Applied by: Weibo, Pinterest, Snapchat, Craigslist, and Twitter
When it comes to key-value Open Source databases, the Remote Dictionary Server is the most popular choice. Developed by Salvatore Sanfilippo initially as a way to support his own business, it has since become a key database for those seeking fast data retrieval and straightforward deployment.
Redis stands out from other key-value databases due to its ability to persist data. Redis replicates data on disk and can be used to restore it if needed. Common applications of Redis include session management, page caching, message queues, and leaderboards.
MongoDB
To Be Applied by: Stack, Uber, and Lyft.
MongoDB is widely recognised as the industry-standard NoSQL database, and the developers are justified in their assertion. Document-oriented databases are predominantly powered by MongoDB, and its most advantageous feature is that it does not require pre-defined schema design.
MongoDB has proven to be an exceptionally quick database, with benchmarks that are impressive in comparison to its competitors. Its open-source nature makes it easy to understand and configure, contributing to its rapid growth in popularity.
SQLite
To Be Applied by: Internet Brands, Inc., and Oberlin University. Names Like Adobe, Airbus, and Apple
SQLite is the only Relationship Database Management System (RDBMS) on our list that is not a client-server engine. It is often included as a C library in the final product, making it ideal when a relational database is required but a server is not accessible. For example, Firefox utilises SQLite to store data such as preferences, history and bookmarked websites.
SQLite is an invaluable resource for any programmer looking to develop a locally-hosted application requiring data processing, such as a financial analysis tool or data analysis software.
Microsoft SQL Server
To Be Applied by: Companies Like Wells Fargo, Harris, GE, and Yahoo
Microsoft SQL Server has been a mainstay since 1981 and is widely used due to its powerful capabilities. Although it may appear overwhelming at first, Microsoft have designed the SQL portfolio to be user friendly, in the same way that Windows is. Every customer can find a product which suits their needs by simply identifying the features they require. In this instance, less is more.
Microsoft has always been focused on making their services easy to use. This service has one of the simplest installations available, and its cloud-based counterpart, Azure, is one of the most advanced solutions for developers and businesses.
PostgreSQL
To Be Applied by: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Google+
PostgreSQL, derived from the original Ingres database engine created at the University of California, has seen steady growth in popularity and support and is now one of the most widely used open-source relational databases.
The success of this engine can be attributed to its ability to guarantee ACID transactions. This is achieved through a range of innovative techniques, including its capacity to provide concurrent support for multiple versions.
PostgreSQL has developed a strong and supportive community within the Information Technology industry, making it a straightforward choice for most engineers to learn.
MySQL
To Be Applied by: A large majority of people…
It was widely anticipated that MySQL would come out on top due to its excellent reputation. It was initially released in 1995 and is written in C++; it is generally held to be the premier database engine available.
MySQL has a large, active community that develops and improves the software continually. It has a reputation for reliability, scalability, speed and security. Oracle now owns MySQL, however, users can choose between an open-source and a proprietary license, depending on their specific needs.
Databases of the future…
The current interest in big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning is tangible. Despite the exciting potential these technologies offer, it is essential that we remain mindful of the critical role that accurate and reliable data plays in their success.
Hence, as technology advances, database administration is vital in guaranteeing data integrity, as well as providing efficient storage and retrieval solutions to deal with large volumes of data previously thought to be unfeasible.
Each of the databases discussed possess their own unique advantages and disadvantages, created to address a particular set of challenges. As technology continues to develop, we can anticipate the emergence of further methods to meet changing trends.
