What Is A Relational Database? Types, Advantages, Disadvantages, And More!

Relational databases store large volumes of data in a mannered way and provide access to the data points that are somehow related to each other. In these databases, your data is stored in rows and columns for better structuring.

According to the latest statistics, MySQL is one of the most used relational databases worldwide with more than 44.04% of the total market share. And yes, it has been also predicted that MySQL relational database will share more than 50% of the market share in the future after a few years.

Such a huge market share is all because of the great advantages relational databases offer.

That’s what we are going to discuss in today’s article. All you need to do is, stay with this page and be good to go. Let’s dive right into this.

Advantages of Relational Databases

Rational databases come up with great advantages and you can get ultimate benefits. In fact, they are helping you to ensure your data is properly organized or not. So, you can easily access your data and maintain it the way you want to.

Explore the core advantages of relational databases one by one:

Efficient Data Integrity

Relational databases ensure perfect data integrity which refers to the consistency, accuracy, and reliability of your data. It has been tested and experienced by expert developers that the data integrity system of relational databases is quiet efficient and maintained by various mechanisms. These include check constraints, unique constraints, and primary and foreign key constraints.

Reduced Duplication

Relational databases break down the large volume of data into related tables and promote the normalization process which ultimately reduces duplicate information entry. In fact, relational databases establish relationships between tables using primary and foreign keys to minimize duplicity.

Pay attention – By avoiding duplicity very much, relational databases promote less space and efficient storage management.

Data Management and Organization

Unlike other databases, relational databases organize your data into tables and use primary and foreign keys to manage relationships between them. This is because linking promotes better indexing, consistency and data integrity. It reduces duplicity and helps in making query systems and performance better.

Easy Access to Data

Relational databases allow you to easily access your data with its structured query language. Also, it uses table partitions, and keys to easily define the relationships between data. Moreover, relational databases also take care of ACID properties (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability) which helps you access your data quickly.

Team Collaboration

Systems of relational databases provide you with shared schema and SQL language along with the role-based access control feature due to which you can work with other co-developers on a shared project.

With normalization features multiple users working on a shared project can access the latest and up-to-date information and make improvements accordingly. Moreover, relational databases ensure no conflicts with their data organization features.

Scalability Options

Relational databases offer both: vertical and horizontal scalability. Meanwhile, you can add more powerful hardware to the single server and enhance the scalability in vertical. In contrast, you can divide the load on multiple servers or nodes in horizontal scalability.

Apart from this, several features of relational databases like fast indexing, better query optimization, normalization, partitioning, reduced duplicity, and caching mechanism also promote scalability.

Also read: Top 11 Programming Languages to Use in 2024

Safety and Security

Relational databases ensure great security of your data through various mechanisms. Firstly, you are allowed to control role-based accesses, so you can prevent unauthorized accesses. Secondly, there are encryption techniques that help you secure data during transmission or storage.

There’s a feature introduced by all relational databases named robust authentication mechanism. This feature allows you to ensure only authorized members are logging in and you are completely avoiding unauthorized access.

Pay attention – You can also use audit trails and logging-in mechanisms which can help you track changes. Moreover, there are also features like regular backups and disaster recovery plans with which you can avoid data loss.

Let’s now discuss some disadvantages of relational databases below.

Disadvantages of Relational Databases

Where relational databases come up with great benefits, they have also some disadvantages. You should know about them so that you can make the right decision about their use. If you can tackle these disadvantages and are okay with them, use relational databases without any worries.

Let’s get back to the point and explore the disadvantages of relational databases below.

Complex Design

Schema designing and defining relationships between tables using keys is a great feature of relational databases but it can cause complexity in structuring. The normalization process can also contribute to the complexity of structured data.

It has been found that modifying schema later is sometimes time-consuming and irritating, especially when you’re working on enterprise-level projects.

Rigid Schema

Relational databases use fixed schema which means that you must define the database structure before inserting your data. If you try to change schema later, it might be quiet a time-consuming and irritating procedure.

This rigidity of relational databases might be a disadvantage if you don’t like fixed schema. Otherwise, some people also find it good but the majority of developers don’t like it.

Performance Issues at Some Points

Relational databases overall perform well but sometimes you experience unpleasant or irritating situations. Especially, when the complexity of queries increases and you have large tables. You are recommended to make partitions and promote an optimized design of your database, so you avoid complex queries and enjoy optimum speed and performance.

Not a Good Choice For Large Unstructured Data

All relational databases are primarily made to serve structured data. That’s why if you have a large amount of unstructured data such as images, documents, and multimedia files to organize, these databases might not be a good choice for you.

It might be considered a disadvantage of relational databases among developers who want to organize their large amount of unstructured data with them.

Poor Compatibility with Hierarchical Data

Representing hierarchical data such as organizational charts or file systems using relational databases is complex because it needs complex queries and multiple table joins which negatively affects the performance. You might also face other issues related to security if you forcefully implement hierarchical data into your relational database.

Vendor Lock-In

You need to choose a specific vendor when going with relational databases which may lead to vendor lock-in. It might cause problems when you switch on different systems in the future for improved performance. Sometimes, it is also expensive to change vendors.

These are a few limitations of relational databases disliked among the majority of developers worldwide. But if you are okay with them, use relational databases without any hassle.

Let’s discuss the types below.

Some Most Popular Relational Databases Types

There are several types of relational databases have been developed over the years. All of the databases come up with unique features, updates, advantages, and disadvantages. It's up to you which relational database you choose considering your project requirements.

Here are some most popular relational databases, explore them below.

MySQL

MySQL is one of the best and most used relational database systems (RDBMS) which offer is popular for its flexibility and scalability features. MySQL database can be a good choice for software development, mobile application development, and web application development. GUI Desktop application development, game development, and more.

One of the most interesting features of this relational database is its ACID properties. Moreover, there is also a wide range of tools and connectors you can avail of using this database system.

PostgreSQL

The second most used relational database after MySQL is PostgreSQL. This database is known for its advanced features and capability to tackle big data in a mannered way. With this database, developers can build complex applications such as government websites, healthcare websites, and applications for financial services.

Pay attention – the best thing about the PostgreSQL database is that it supports spatial data and focuses on robust security.

Microsoft SQL Server

Another popular relational database is the Microsoft SQL server which was officially introduced by Microsoft. This database is famous for its robust performance and shows great compatibility with other Microsoft products. The database is mostly used in Enterprise resource planning systems (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), Business Intelligence (BI), and Data warehousing.

You can easily promote data encryption, data replication, and disaster recovery with this database and scale your projects without any such complexity.

MariaDB

In popular relational databases how we can forger MariaDB. The top-rated open-source relational database management system is a perfect choice for projects in which you’re planning scalability and trying to organize your large volumes of unstructured data.

Using MariaDB you can efficiently make web applications, mobile applications, content management systems, and larger e-commerce platforms. Interestingly, you can enjoy a flexible schema with it.

All relational databases offer various features such as scalability, efficient speed and performance, built-in security and much more. But MySQL is always top on the list serving all the needs and requirements of various types of projects.

According to the experts, that’s the reason why MySQL shares such a huge market share alone. Let’s see what makes this database most popular among developers worldwide.

Why is MySQL the Most Popular Relational Database Worldwide?

MySQL relational database is famous for three core functionalities including open-source nature, versatility and ease of use. This is how small to large organizations can use this database without investing in licensing costs.

Apart from this, you can use this database system in various types of projects. Meanwhile, you can handle diverse applications including web development, software development, application development, desktop GUI development, game development, enterprise level applications development and much more.

MySQL uses SQL (Structured Query Language) language for queries and offers a very simple syntax. With this, you can easily manage and organize your data, as well as make queries to find specific codes without any such hassle.

Pay attention – MySQL also offer great built in security system, flexibility and scalability, normalization procedures and much more other features.

All of these features are collectively making MySQL as world’s top relational database.

Here’s where you can find the best MySQL developers for your project.

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Conclusion

In the above article, we completely shared what is a relational database, its various popular types, advantages, and disadvantages with proper reasons. So, you can easily make decisions about them. Moreover, we described how MySQL is the best relational database system and you can hire a dedicated developer at RemotePlatz.

Now, we’d like to hear from you. Leave your kind opinions and share experiences with relational databases quickly inside the comment box below.

FAQs

Is SQL A Relational Database?

No, SQL is not a relational database management system. Rather, it’s a structured query language which is used by relational databases such as MySQL, PostgreSQL or Microsoft SQL Server for querying and management of data.

Is Excel A Relational Database?

No, Excel is not a database management system. In fact, it’s a spreadsheet application which was developed by Microsoft and use to store and manipulate data. It lacks the characteristics of relational databases.

What Is A Simple Definition Of Relationship In Database?

A relationship in database refers to the association between tables based on common fields. By using keys and constraints, you can specify the rules and establish the relationship between entities in tables.

Why Are Relational Databases Called Relational?

Relational databases are called “relational” because they organize your data in a mannered way to describe and define the relationship between entities. You can promote efficient retrieval and manipulation this way.

What Are The 3 Basic Relationships In Relational Database?

The three basic relations in relational databases include One-to-One (1:1) relationship, One-to-Many (1:N) relationships, and Many-to-Many (M:N) relationships. All these three types of relationships can be used for different purposes at different conditions.

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