When deciding between SQL (relational) databases and NoSQL (non-relational) databases, it's important to consider the specific requirements and characteristics of your application.
- Structured data with predefined schema
- ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) compliance for transaction reliability
- Support for complex queries and joins
- Typically scaled vertically (increasing resources on a single server)
- Financial Systems:
- Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems:
- Healthcare Systems:
- E-commerce Platforms:
- Flexible schema design for unstructured or semi-structured data
- Horizontal scaling (distributing data across multiple servers)
- Variety of data models: document, key-value, column-family, graph
- Often optimized for high throughput and low latency
- Content Management Systems (CMS):
- Big Data Applications:
- Real-Time Applications:
- Distributed Data Storage:
- Social Networks:
In some scenarios, a combination of SQL and NoSQL databases (polyglot persistence) may be the best solution. For example:
- Microservices Architecture:Scenario: Using different types of databases for different microservices, depending on their specific needs.
- Reason: Allows each microservice to use the most suitable database technology for its particular data and workload requirements.
- SQL databases are ideal for applications requiring complex queries, strict transactional integrity, and structured data with well-defined relationships.
- NoSQL databases are suitable for applications needing flexible schema design, horizontal scalability, high throughput, and the ability to handle large volumes of unstructured or semi-structured data.
