Introduction to NoSQL
It stores data differently than relational tables. They provide flexible
schemas and scale easily with large amounts of big data and high user loads.
These systems handle unstructured or semi-structured data, making
them suitable for big data and real-time web applications.
The four major types of NoSQL databases have emerged:
Document databases,
Key-value databases,
Wide-column stores, and
Document-oriented databases
• A document-oriented database stores data in documents similar to
JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) objects or BSON .
• Each document contains pairs of nested fields and values.
• Values - strings, numbers, boolean, arrays, or even other objects.
• A document database offers a flexible data model, much suited for
semi-structured and typically unstructured data sets.
• support nested structures – easy to represent complex relationships or
hierarchical data.
• Each document can be indexed for fast querying, supporting complex
data retrieval processes.
• They are well-suited for applications needing flexible schemas, such
as content management systems and e-commerce platforms
{
"_id": "12345",
"name": "foo bar",
"email": "foo@[Link]",
"address": {
Examples of Document databases – Mongodb, "street": "123 foo street",
Couchbase "city": "some city",
"state": "some state",
"zip": "123456"
},
"hobbies": ["music", "guitar",
"reading"]
}
Key Value Databases
A key-value store is a simpler type of database where each item contains keys
and values.
Each key is unique and associated with a single value.
They are used for caching and session management and provide high
performance in reads and writes because they tend to store things in memory.
This model is useful for simple data retrieval operations and scales across
distributed systems.
suitable for applications requiring quick data access.
Examples : Amazon DynamoDB and Redis
Key: user:12345
Wide-column stores
It stores store data in tables, rows, and dynamic columns.
The data is stored in tables wide-column stores are flexible, where
different rows can have different sets of columns.
These databases can employ column compression techniques to
reduce the storage space and enhance performance.
The wide rows and columns enable efficient retrieval of sparse and
wide data.
Handle massive volumes of data across many servers efficiently,
making them suitable for applications that require high write
throughput, like real-time data analytics.
They make it easier to store and access large datasets without
A graph database stores data in the form of nodes and edges.
Nodes - store information about people, places, and things (like
nouns),
edges - store information about the relationships between the nodes.
Properties
supporting complex relationships inherent in social networks,
recommendation engines, and fraud detection systems.
Examples of graph databases are Neo4J and Amazon Neptune.
These databases can rapidly
navigate and analyze
interconnected data, making
them useful for applications
with deep relationship queries,
such as route optimization and
network infrastructure
mapping.
Multi-model databases
Multi-model databases support more than one type of NoSQL data
model based on their requirements.
These databases have a unified database engine that can handle
multiple data models within a database instance.
Examples are CosmosDB and ArangoDB.