We have all witnessed the trend of generating data in current scenarios. There is no doubt that it is increasing daily whether the generated data is relevant or irrelevant. And this reveals the massive necessity of smartly designed databases so that massive chunks of data can be handled and proceed accurately.
As we know, databases are the first starting point of any data process. It becomes a compulsion for us to understand which data we have, what process is required to complete and, based on many constraints, what kind of databases we can use. As deep we go into the topic, it becomes more complicated. It is highly suggested to get started with this subject, one should begin by knowing the basic types of databases, so using this article, we are going to discuss the following basic types of databases:
- Hierarchical Database
- Network Databases
- Object-Oriented Database
- Relational Database
- Non-relational Database
Let’s start with our first Database
1. Hierarchical Database
Like other hierarchical programs, this database stores the data categorised in ranks and levels. To do so, we categorise data using a common point linkage. For example, in gender classification data, humans are a common link between males and females. As given in the below diagram:
The above diagram shows that the database data is structured in a hierarchy where humans are classified by gender. After that, genders are organised based on year. For gender, human is the common link, and for the year of study, male and female as their common link.
By looking at the structure of stored data, data is organised using the parent-child relationship. As the multiple data element will be added to their parent node, it would resemble a tree structure. We can say that because of this structure, we can not easily mine such databases. Also, with the addition of data in such a structure, we need to do lengthy traversal through the database.
2. Network Databases
We can think of this type of database as a hierarchical database, but here the child nodes are allowed to link with more than one parent node. With such linkage options, we find a network-like structure of databases and files linked with multiple threads. For example, let’s take a look at the below diagram:
The above diagram shows that it is a complex structure, but they are more capable of representing two or more directional relationships. The major disadvantage of this type of database is they are difficult to alter and highly structurally dependent.
3. Object-Oriented Database
An object-oriented database (OOD) is a database system that can store and work with complex data objects. In layman’s terminology, it is a way of storing data organised around objects rather than actions. The data stored in such a database can be represented as an object that responds to a database model’s instance. This architecture lets us reference and calls objects easily. For a better understanding, Look at the below diagram:
In the above charts, we can see how the different information of data is linked to each other using a method or command. Using such architecture, we can easily find the gender of any person using the “of type” method and his/her address using the “lives at” method. The main objective behind architecting such a database is to reduce the workload on the database.
4. Relational Database
As the name suggests, his type of database stores every piece of information related to every piece of information. It is one of the widely used types of database because it often works n the production line with its management system. Every piece of information stored in this database has a unique identity which we usually call the records.
The unique identification of every piece of information is that it stores the data in tabular form. Primary keys are the linkage between every row of tables, and foreign keys are the linkage between the tables.
We can use the above diagram to understand the concept of keys in a relational database. Its capability of storing data in tabular form it has exceedingly popular. Simple languages developed for this type of database make interaction with the database simple.
5. Non-relational Database
These types of databases are the most basic types of data storage systems as they give the simplest way to store and retrieve data. In addition, these databases include simple design, finer controllability and simple scaling to different machines. The above-discussed databases use relational data, but here data structure inside a non-relational database is different so that it can make some options faster.
There are several advantages of using non-relational databases, such as high scalability and high availability, while being open source, complex backup, and large document sizes are some of the disadvantages of this database. MongoDB and Cassandra are examples of Non-Relational databases.
Final words
Here we have ear the basic knowledge about the five basic types of databases, where many work based on the relationship between data values, many works based on the relation between tables, and many can help store both relational and non-relational data values. However, in real-life scenarios, we often find that industries tend to focus on implementing databases based on their requirements. So it becomes a compulsion for us to keep track of the basic knowledge of databases, which we tried to cover in this article.
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