Databases are a fundamental part of modern digital landscapes. They function as structured sets of data stored and organized in a manner that ensures efficient retrieval and updating of information. Serving as the backbone for a plethora of applications, these systems handle data management for websites, apps, and enterprise software solutions.
In today’s data-driven world, the importance of databases is paramount. They hold the critical role of storing, retrieving, and manipulating data, thus facilitating smooth and efficient operations. From managing user information on social media platforms, processing transactions in e-commerce, to powering data analysis in large corporations, they are everywhere.
Two primary types of databases are most prevalent – relational and NoSQL. Relational databases, such as MySQL, PostgreSQL and Oracle, are characterized by a tabular data structure, where data is organized in tables and relationships are maintained between different data sets. They excel in handling structured data and support complex querying capabilities.
On the other hand, NoSQL databases, which include document stores, key-value stores, wide-column stores, and graph databases, are designed to handle unstructured data and offer greater scalability and flexibility. Examples of these systems include MongoDB, Cassandra, DynamoDB and Redis.
In essence, these systems are the cornerstone of modern IT and Software systems, enabling businesses to manage vast amounts of data efficiently and effectively. As our reliance on data continues to grow, so does the importance of robust, efficient, and secure systems. Given their pivotal role, understanding databases and their functionality is a must-have skill in the realm of information technology.
Introduction to Database Triggers In the world of databases, a trigger is a set of instructions that are automatically executed, or fired, in response to specific events. These events could be changes to data in a table, such as insertions,… Read More »Understanding Database Triggers
SQL, the language that reigns supreme in the world of relational databases, offers an array of features to manipulate and analyze data effectively. A notably powerful feature among them is the SQL window functions. Window functions enable computations across a… Read More »Comprehensive Guide to SQL Window Functions
Understanding Deadlocks in Databases In the context of databases, deadlocks are situations where two or more transactions are unable to proceed because each is waiting for the other to release a resource. This can be likened to a circular chain… Read More »Database Deadlocks: Reasons and Resolution
Introduction The dynamics of database management prioritize efficient data retrieval as a key performance index. Herein lies the significance of database statistics, which provide a snapshot of database content like row counts in a table or value distributions within a… Read More »What is the Importance of Database Statistics in Query Optimization?
Introduction A phantom read is a scenario that occurs in a database when a transaction re-executes a query and finds that another committed transaction has added or removed rows that weren’t there previously. This anomaly can lead to inconsistencies in… Read More »What is a Phantom Read Anomaly?
Non-Repeatable Read is a database anomaly that occurs in the context of transactions, which are sequences of database operations that should behave as single, indivisible units of work. Non-Repeatable Read happens when a transaction reads the same row twice, and gets different data each time. This is usually due to another transaction modifying the data after the first read. In this post, we look at this concept in detail and techniques to address this.
Database isolation is a property that defines how and when the changes made by one operation become visible to other concurrent operations. Isolation is one of the ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) properties.
In this post, we will look at 4 standard isolation levels along with some database-specific ones.
ACID is a fundamental concept in database systems, standing for Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability. These properties ensure reliable processing of database transactions. ACID Properties of Database Systems Atomicity Atomicity ensures that a transaction is treated as a single, indivisible… Read More »What is ACID in database systems?
Introduction to EXPLAIN Plains An EXPLAIN plan, often simply called an “explain”, is a tool in SQL-based database systems like PostgreSQL that provides information about how a database will execute a given query. By inputting a SQL query to the… Read More »What is an EXPLAIN Plan? How is it interpreted?
As a PostgreSQL developer, the optimization of your SQL queries is a vital task that can greatly enhance the performance of your database. This is where the commands EXPLAIN and EXPLAIN ANALYZE come into play. They provide detailed insights into… Read More »Unleashing the Power of EXPLAIN in PostgreSQL