RDBMS:Relational Database Management System
Understanding RDBMS: What It Is and How It Works
RDBMS stands for Relational Database Management System. In this blog, we will see its definition and terminologies related to it. We will also understand why RDBMS is the favourite choice of industries.
What is the need for RDBMS?
The Internet became more widespread and accessible globally due to a witnessed revolution in the World Wide Web(WWW).
During this time people were more interested in solving real-world problems programmatically over the Internet.
Amazon made its services online to offer a wide range of products. Facebook gave a platform to online share information with friends. Tinder solved getting into relationships programmatically.
At that time many programming languages had already entered the market and developers were trying to take the best advantage of it. The data storage problem was still there as developers were not able to figure out which one was the best fit for their project.
The challenge was to represent living and non-living entities programmatically. There was a need for a similar kind of representation in the database layer too.
Another important feature of real-world entities is relationships. For example, a bulb has relations with its switch for turning on the bulb. This was another challenge that was yet to be solved.
If we understand closely the problem of storing entities was already solved with DBMS. DBMS could store the entities but it missed the flavour of storing or representing relationships between entities. Then RDBMS was introduced to help store entities with relationships.
What is RDBMS?
RDBMS stands for Relational Database Management System. It refers to a type of software system that is used to manage relational databases.
To understand the definition of RDBMS it is very important to understand the terminology associated with it.
Important Terminologies
To start working with RDBMS, it is crucial to understand these terminologies.
Data
Database
DBMS
Relational Data
Relational Database
RDBMS
Data
Everything, which we want to store or retrieve is data. Data gives information. Your name is also data that provides information about you.
Database
A database is a physical location where data is stored. We can assume the database is a container that is storing all the data.
DBMS
DBMS stands for Database management system. It comprises two parts: DB which is the database and MS which is the management system.
It is a complete software that enables users to interact with databases. It provides tools and features for creating, storing, retrieving and managing data in a structured manner. DBMS acts as an intermediatory between users and the database, facilitating seamless data operations.
Relational Data
Relational data is simply data with relationships. Imagine a company database it has two important entities that are departments and employees. These entities are interrelated: each employee must be a part of at least one department and each department must have at least one employee. This type of data that has a relationship between them is called relational data.
Relational Database
It is a physical storage of relational data.
RDBMS
Now, we understand the proper definition of RDBMS. RDBMS or Relational Database Management System is simply Relational Database and a Management system. As DBMS, it is a complete software that allows us to store and manipulate some relational data.
Why do Industries use RDBMS?
Industries use RDBMS for various purposes.
Supports transactions
A transaction in an RDBMS is a simple set of operations that are done on the data in the database. These transactions are done completely only if all the conditions are met, if any condition is not satisfied the transaction would not be completed.
For example, I transfer 100 rupees to my friend, either my friend received all the 100 rupees or he receives none. In the same way, either 100 rupees is deducted from my account or there won't be any deduction. It is not like the 100 rupees is missed somewhere in between, either the money is in my friend's account or my account.
Supporting transactions in one of the biggest unique selling points(USPs) of a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS). This is also one of the reasons why RDBMS has fewer competitors.
Relationships
Industrial applications the majority of the time work with data that has relationships. since there is a need of managing this relational data, industries go for RDBMS.
Proper Schema
Schema is the blueprint of the database. In most industrial applications the schema almost remains unchanged over time.
In a banking application, in the KYC process, the same information would be collected by all the users and stored in the database.
Doing this the RDBMS Schema remains unchanged the majority of the time which makes data management easier and provides consistency in data storage.
Ensures Data integrity during read and write
RDBMS ensures data integrity during both read and write operations. Data integrity refers to the accuracy, consistency and reliability of data stored in a database.
