What is NoSQL? What are the features?

In recent years, modern web applications have generated and continue to produce more data than ever before. Therefore, all this data must be stored and managed. Management can be done according to two types of database management systems, SQL and NoSQL based. NoSQL databases are designed to handle unstructured data that is not supported by SQL due to lack of structure. NoSQL uses creative ways to solve this limitation. Examples include dynamic programs and various processing techniques. The most popular database types for data that are not structured, i.e. the subject of NoSQL, are document, graph column, and key-value databases. Subjects, on the other hand, usually consist of data such as graphics, video, raw sensor output, and free text. So what does NoSQL mean? How to use What are its features? Let's take a look at all the curious details about NOSQL together.

What is NoSQL?

NoSQL is an acronym and does not only mean Structured Query Language. Its difference from SQL is that structured data is not stored in this database. Especially useful if you want to keep track of a data stream with unstructured data stored in all kinds of ways, from Excel files and charts to chats and social media messages. SQL, by the way, is also a database. The negativity prefix gives the impression that NoSQL is not a database. But it's not just SQL, it deals with unstructured rather than structured data.

In general, NoSQL are databases that can handle large amounts of distributed data. These systems do not use the SQL language, the syntax of which is mainly designed to store and retrieve data. NoSQL databases, on the other hand, use a wide variety of other database technologies that allow storing structured, semi-structured, unstructured, and polymorphic data. It is usually possible to access data in the database, such as JSON, in languages other than SQL.

NoSQL databases are used in applications that deal with large amounts of data. For example, applications with machine learning functions are ideal for using NoSQL. Examples of NoSQL software are Microsoft Azure service, Cosmos DB, or MongoDB. These are database software that can process many terabytes per day along with cloud computing. NoSQL databases are also easy to scale. Most importantly, you don't need a very powerful physical server to get the best results and performance. Usually a NoSQL database can also be virtualized in a virtual machine (Virtual Machine).

NoSQL Database Types

There are four popular types of NoSQL database systems, document, graph, key-value databases, and large column repositories, and each uses a different type of data model.

• Document databases: Among all non-relational databases, document store databases are the most popular. The most famous is MongoDB. All cloud providers have some kind of document store. With document stores, you store your data in documents instead of tables. These documents can have multiple rows, as well as each row can have its own set of columns. It is also possible to align these columns with each other. In short, you can store rows inside columns.
• Graphical databases: Graphical databases are all about relationships. Relational databases deal with relationships between tables, while graph databases deal with relationships between values. Algorithms that show, for example, that people who buy product X often also buy product Y are often based on graphs.
• Key/value databases: Implements a simple data model that associates a unique key with an appropriate value. As the name implies, the key value stores the connection values in a key. It can be thought of as a product ID on which your product data hangs. This product data may contain nested values, so some data can really be placed in it. But the search options are limited. Another advantage of the key/value store is its speed.
• Large column warehouses: Both columns and rows can be expanded with large column warehouses. Therefore, they are also called two-dimensional key/value stores. The two best known databases of this type are HBase and Cassandra.

What are NoSQL Databases Used For?

SQL is the most widely used language for communicating with relational database management systems. Almost all major content management systems (CMS) support MySQL. For example, a LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) is still common in WordPress hosting environments. However, in some cases the use of NoSQL is more popular due to the advantages it offers.

NoSQL does not have an integrity check like the InnoDB storage engine because it is not designed for this. The purpose of NoSQL is to store and retrieve data in a common container without relationships and quickly retrieve it. It is still possible to obtain a relational database in cases where consistency and integrity are very important, so it is important what you should actually use NoSQL for.

• NoSQL databases are used for content management, real-time (big) data, mobile applications, IoT and much more. Because they can be used in many different ways, many developers in almost every industry also prefer to work with NoSQL databases. This is partly because the data in these databases can be stored more easily and intuitively.
• NoSQL is particularly preferred for large amounts of unstructured data. However, it is also ideal if you have or are using a more dispersed application infrastructure, such as a microservices architecture.
• NoSQL is suitable for logging data from distributed sources.
• NoSQL databases are also sometimes used to store temporary data such as data from shopping carts or session data in e-commerce environments.
• NoSQL is mostly used by companies that do a lot of cloud computing and have to process large amounts of data in a distributed way. For example, FAANG companies (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google) have NoSQL databases.

Features of NoSQL Databases

The features of NoSQL databases can provide both advantages and disadvantages. Because there are uses for which each database is more suitable, and sometimes its advantages can be exploited, while in some cases its disadvantages can also be exploited. The properties of NoSQL databases can be listed as follows:

• Functional: NoSQL databases simplify application development using a REST API and web services, especially interactive real-time web applications.
• Flexible: NoSQL allows data to be stored in a free format.
• Scalable: They provide scalability for larger datasets or when more traffic needs to be supported.
• It has its own syntax: Each NoSQL database has its own syntax for querying and managing data.
• No Standard: There are many NoSQL databases, and there is still no standard, as with relational databases.
• It is difficult to ensure data integrity: The lack of a standard database schema and constraints in a document framework prevents it from achieving data integrity as in a relational and SQL database.

NoSQL also offers the advantage of horizontal scaling. Thus, the load can be divided between several servers. However, with a RDBMS (Relational Database Management System) it can only scale vertically. On a vertical scale, more resources need to be placed on a server to increase speed. But increasing resources means increasing costs.

The main advantage of NoSQL databases is that all kinds of data and files can be stored in them. It is also possible to distribute data across different storage servers as needed to keep running quickly.

How NoSQL Interacts with Applications

NoSQL communicates with applications through web services. Because a web service is a service offered over the internet. Different systems can then use the data or functionality of the respective system. This, in turn, makes it possible for an application to search for different functions or data from external systems (systems that are programmed differently). The power of web services, on the other hand, is due to the fact that the systems are freely connected. In short, they need to have little knowledge about each other to use each other's functions.

You can communicate with the NoSQL database via REST and JSON. Most NoSQL database engines use a schema that is processed in an XML file on the server. In the diagram, you can set how you can communicate with the database and in which areas the web service is allowed to communicate. In practice, there are various NoSQL engines, such as Cassandra, Mongo, etc. Although most engines work differently, it is built on the basis of communication through a web service.

If you also want to benefit from the flexibility and scalability of working outside of certain standards, you can opt for the NoSQL database. Especially when it comes to online games and e-commerce applications, it is very convenient for you to avoid cost and time loss and get fast response times. You can also use the services offered by Komtaş regarding database management systems to reach the most suitable solution for you.