NoSQL

[Nytro]

NoSQL

Author: Greg Burd

Choosing between databases used to boil down to examining the differences

between the available commercial and open source relational databases. The term

"database" had become synonymous with SQL, and for a while not much else came

close to being a viable solution for data storage. But recently there has been a shift

in the database landscape. When considering options for data storage, there is a

new game in town: NoSQL databases. In this article I'll introduce this new category

of databases, examine where they came from and what they are good for, and

help you understand whether you, too, should be considering a NoSQL solution in

place of, or in addition to, your RDBMS database.

What Is NoSQL?

The only thing that all NoSQL solutions providers generally agree on is that the

term "NoSQL" isn't perfect, but it is catchy. Most agree that the "no" stands for "not

only"—an admission that the goal is not to reject SQL but, rather, to compensate for

the technical limitations shared by the majority of relational database implementations.

In fact, NoSQL is more a rejection of a particular software and hardware

architecture for databases than of any single technology, language, or product.

Relational databases evolved in a different era with different technological constraints,

leading to a design that was optimal for the typical deployment prevalent

at that time. But times have changed, and that once successful design is now a limitation.

You might hear conversations suggesting that a better term for this category

is NoRDBMS or half a dozen other labels, but the critical thing to remember is that

NoSQL solutions started off with a different set of goals and evolved in a different

environment, and so they are operationally different and, arguably, provide bettersuited

solutions for many of today's data storage problems.

Articol:

http://www.usenix.org/publications/login/2011-10/openpdfs/Burd.pdf

Edited October 15, 2011 by Nytro