Databases, A Simple Guide to Learning the Basics

4 min readJun 25, 2021

We’re finally here, at the last lap of the web development series, and the topic up for discussion is “Databases, A Simple Guide to Learning the Basics”. Congratulations for making it this far, you’ve almost completed all the pieces to your awesome web application. (if you haven’t read any of the previous articles, click on the links to read on the front-end & middle-tier to catch this article).

https://whatsthebigdata.com/2015/02/28/3-database-admins-walked-into-a-nosql-bar/

Database, sounds like a fancy place

The name alone pretty much explains what it is doesn’t it? A database — meaning the HQ/base for data! Enough of my dry jokes, the database is essentially an organised collection of information or data stored on a computer system. A Database Management System (DBMS) facilitates the storage, retrieval, updating and deletion of data.

In more friendly terms, databases can be likened to your bedroom wardrobe, assuming you actually arrange or designate a special drawer to each unique type of clothing, or group everything together by their different colours, sizes or whatever criterion. You would be able to rapidly search for and find items(especially missing socks), easily modify each drawer without affecting the others and also get rid of a particular set of clothing(smelly underwear) without a second thought.

Database Management Systems

Database Management System (DBMS) are software that let users perform operations such as manipulation of data in the database, or defining rules to validate and manipulate data among many.

Obviously, databases and database management systems are vast topics and we’re only barely scratching the surface. However, I’m optimistic this article will give you a fair idea of some of the terminologies and technologies to boost your interest and encourage you to find out more.

Some Popular DBMS

PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL is a relational database DBMS which is primarily used in many web and mobile applications. PostgreSQL supports loads of programming languages such as Python, Java and C#, just to name a few. This would be my primary recommendation to any beginner because it’s highly efficient, open source and free to use, also there are lots of resources available along with a large community of users to help you get started.

Side Note — It’s open source and free doesn’t mean it’s below standard, PostgreSQL is actually one of the most popular DBMS used by top tech firms.

MySQL

MySQL is also a relational database backed by Oracle, one of the big name players in the industry. If you’re developing a website (WordPress, Joomla, etc.) or web application, MySQL would be a premium choice especially if your stack involves Linux, Apache or PHP. It’s also an open source and free to use software but Oracle does provide a premium support services when you buy a commercial license

Definitely! MySQL is used for a wider variety of projects, however we’ll only peek into the very basics for this article, read more on MySQL docs.

Microsoft SQL Server

Microsoft SQL Server (MSSQL) is a relational DBMS developed and managed by Microsoft, it’s one of the market leading database technologies. It’s quite easy to get started with and is one of my personal favorites as it was the first DBMS I used. Of course, I only experienced a minor fraction of its functionality as MSSQL is mainly used for enterprise deployments, however, it is also ideal for desktop and web applications. SQL Server 2019 Express is the free edition of SQL Server, you can also find a ton of resources on how to use and setup MSSQL Server.

SQLite

SQLite is a popular relational DBMS mainly designed to be embedded in applications such as browsers, operating systems, and embedded systems (e.g. mobile phones) for local storage.

Unlike other DBMS, SQLite is not a standalone process which gives it the advantage of zero configuration, meaning no configuration is required.

The above mentioned are just a few examples, there are numerous DBMS software out there for basic beginner projects to the most advanced enterprise deployments, a few noteworthy mentions are, Oracle Database, Dbeaver, IBM DB2, MongoDB, Microsoft Access etc.

An interesting statistic ranking top DBMS can be found here.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/809750/worldwide-popularity-ranking-database-management-systems/

Why You Keep Seeing SQL

Notice how almost all the DBMS either begin with or end in SQL, that’s because SQL is a standard programming language used by relational databases. SQL is an acronym for Structured Query Language. It’s used to communicate with the database and perform tasks such as insert, update, retrieve and delete data from the database.

Extra Resources

This article can be seen as a very general introduction to what a database is and some popular database management systems. However, it’s not enough knowledge to get started creating tables and manipulating data. I’ve listed a couple of resources that could be useful for further reading and understanding.

Database Design Tutorial for Beginners