Relational Database

RDBMS stands for Relational Database Management Systems.

A relational database is a collection of information that organizes data
points with defined relationships for easy access. In the relational database
model, the data structures -- including data tables, indexes and views --
remain separate from the physical storage, allowing administrators to edit
the physical data storage without affecting the logical data structure.

The data tables used in a relational database store information about the

related objects. Each row holds a record with a unique identifier -- known
as a key -- and each column contains the attributes of the data. Each
record assigns a value to each feature, making relationships between data
points easy to identify.

The standard user and application program interface (API) of a relational

database is the Structured Query Language (SQL). SQL statements are
used both for interactive queries for information from a relational database
and for gathering data for reports. Defined data integrity rules must be
followed to ensure the relational database is accurate and accessible.

Relational databases are beneficial to all types and sizes of

organizations where related data points must be consistently managed and
secured. For example, e-commerce businesses can use the relational
model to process purchases and track inventory. The relational database is
the most widely accepted database model.

The relational database was invented in 1970 by E. F. Codd, then a young
programmer at IBM. In his paper, "A Relational Model of Data for Large
Shared Data Banks," Codd proposed shifting from storing data in
hierarchical or navigational structures to organizing data in tables
containing rows and columns.
 Each table -- sometimes called a relation -- in a relational database
contains one or more data categories in columns -- or attributes.
Each row -- also called a record or tuple -- contains a unique instance of
data -- or key -- for the categories defined by the columns. Each table has
a unique primary key, which identifies the information in a table. The
relationship between tables can then be set via the use of foreign keys -- a
field in a table that links to the primary key of another table.

For example, a typical business order entry database would include a table
that described a customer with columns for name, address, phone number
and so forth. Another table would describe an order -- including information
like the product, customer, date and sales price.

A user of a relational database can then obtain a view of the database to fit
their needs. For example, a branch office manager might like a view or
report on all customers that bought products after a certain date. A financial
services manager in the same company could, from the same tables,
obtain a report on accounts that need to be paid.

When creating a relational database, you can define the domain of possible

values in a data column and further constraints that may apply to that data
value. For example, a domain of possible customers could allow up to 10
possible customer names but is limited in one table to allowing only three of
these customer names to be specifiable.

Two constraints relate to data integrity and the primary and foreign keys:

 Entity integrity ensures that the primary key in a table is unique

and that the value is not set to null.

 Referential integrity requires that every value in a foreign key

column will be found in the primary key of the table from which it
originated.

In addition, relational databases possess physical data independence. This

refers to a system's capacity to make changes to the inner schema without
altering the external schemas or application programs. Inner schema
alterations may include:

 the use of new storage devices;

 modifying indexes;

 changing from a specific access method to a different one;

 utilizing different data structures; and

 using various storage structures or file organizations.

Logical data independence is a system's ability to manage the conceptual

schema without altering the external schema or application programs.
Conceptual schema alterations may include the addition or deletion of new
relationships, entities or attributes without altering existing external
schemas or rewriting application programs.

Examples of relational databases

Standard relational databases enable users to manage predefined data
relationships across multiple databases. Popular examples of standard
relational databases include Microsoft SQL
Server, Oracle Database, MySQL and IBM DB2.

Cloud-based relational databases, or database as a service (DBaaS), are

also widely used because they enable companies to outsource database
maintenance, patching and infrastructure support requirements. Cloud
relational databases include Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS),
Google Cloud SQL, IBM DB2 on Cloud, SQL Azure and Oracle Cloud.

Types of databases
There are a number of database categories, from basic flat files that aren't
relational to NoSQL and newer graph databases that are considered even
more relational than standard relational databases.
A flat file database consists of a single table of data that has no
interrelation -- typically text files. This type of file enables users to specify
data attributes, such as columns and data types.

A NoSQL database is an alternative to relational databases that's

especially useful for working with large sets of distributed data. These
databases can support a variety of data models, including key-value,
document, columnar and graph formats.

A graph database expands beyond traditional column- and row-based

relational data models; this NoSQL database uses nodes and edges that
represent connections between data relationships and can discover new
relationships between the data. Graph databases are more sophisticated
than relational databases, and thus, their uses include fraud detection or
web recommendation engines.

An object relational database (ORD) is composed of both a relational

database management system (RDBMS) and an object-oriented database
management system (OODBMS). An ORD contains characteristics of both
the RDBMS and OODBMS models. In an ORD, a traditional database is
used to store the data. It is then accessed and manipulated using queries
written in a query language, such as SQL. Therefore, the basic approach of
an ORD is based on a relational database.

However, an ORD can also be considered object storage, particularly for

software written in the object-oriented programming language (OOP), thus
pulling on object-oriented characteristics. In this situation, APIs are utilized
in the storage and retrieval of data.

Advantages of relational databases

The main advantage of relational databases is that they enable users to
easily categorize and store data that can later be queried and filtered to
extract specific information for reports. Relational databases are also easy
to extend and aren't reliant on physical organization. After the original
database creation, a new data category can be added without all existing
applications being modified.

Other relational database advantages include:

 Accuracy: Data is stored just once, eliminating data

deduplication.

 Flexibility: Complex queries are easy for users to carry out.

 Collaboration: Multiple users can access the same database.

 Trust: Relational database models are mature and well-

understood.

 Security: Data in tables within a RDBMS can be limited to allow

access by only specific users.
Differences between a database and a relational database
The majority of software products in today's market incorporate both
relational database and regular database compliances. Therefore, they can
manage databases in the relational tabular form as well as in file form, or
both. Essentially, in today's market, a relational database is a database and
vice versa; however, there are still major differences in data storage
between the two systems.

The most important difference is that a relational database stores data in a

tabular form -- or arranged in a table with rows and columns -- while a
database stores data as files. Other differences include:

 Database normalization is present in a relational database while it

is not present in a database.

 A relational database supports a distributed database while a

database does not support a distributed database.

 In a relational database, the data values are stored in the form of

tables and each table possesses a primary key. In a database,
data is normally stored in hierarchical or navigational form.
  Since data is stored in the form of tables in a relational database,
then the relationship between these data values is stored as well.
Since a database stores data as files, then there is no relationship
between the values or tables.

 In a relational database, the integrity constraints are defined for

the purpose of ACID. On the other hand, a database does not
utilize any security to protect against data manipulation.

 While a relational database is designed to support large amounts

of data and multiple users, a database is designed to deal with
small amounts of data and one single user.

One final, major distinction is that the data storage in a relational database
is accessible, meaning the value can be updated by the system.
Furthermore, the data within an RDBMS is physically and logically
independent.

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