In this article, you are going to learn the different database management software which is available for free. The database is an essential part of any application. You can choose SQL, NoSQL, or graph databases based on your use case and application context.
When selecting DBMS for your application, there is no "this tool is better than that". What you pick depends on your business needs.
There are several free & paid database solutions divided into two main groups: relational and non-relational databases. In this article, you are going to learn free options.
Free relational database software:
A relational database is an organized collection of data elements coupled together by predefined associations. These elements are arranged in a series of tables with rows and columns. It helps businesses draw meaningful information via linked tables. Users can easily grasp the patterns and connections or how the tables are related.
Advantages of RDBMS:
- Great for structured data.
- Support of Structured query language (SQL).
- Great for complex queries and joins.
- Easy data navigation.
- High level of data integration, due to relationships and constraints among tables.
- Transactions are secure.
- High reliability.
###1. SQLite:
SQLite is a database engine written in the C language. It is not a standalone app; rather, it is a library that software developers embed in their apps. As such, it belongs to the family of embedded databases. This Database is useful when you want to develop something which is like local storage or ephemeral data store which you don't want to persist after the application kills.
2. MYSQL:
MySQL is an open-source relational database management system. Its name is a combination of "My", the name of co-founder Michael Widenius's daughter, and "SQL", the abbreviation for Structured Query Language. MySQL is a popular RDBMS software system. MySQL is a widely used relational database management system. MySQL is free and open-source. MySQL is ideal for both small and large applications.
3. MariaDB:
MariaDB is a community-developed, commercially supported fork of the MySQL relational database management system, intended to remain free and open-source software under the GNU General Public. This is a flavor of the MySQL database engine only. It is ideal for both small and large applications.
4. Postgresql:
Postgresql is yet another popular RDBMS, it is providing some features of no-SQL Database as well. PostgreSQL, also known as Postgres, is a free and open-source relational database management system emphasizing extensibility and SQL compliance. It was originally named POSTGRES, referring to its origins as a successor to the Ingres database developed at the University of California, Berkeley. Postgres is used in web, enterprise, small and large application development.
Free non-relational database software:
A NoSQL database provides a mechanism for storage and retrieval of data that is modeled in means other than the tabular relations used in relational databases. In this DBMS you don't find a table, columns, and rows kind of concept. A Non-Relational Database is a collection of unstructured, structured, or semi-structured items, usually represented in the form of key-value. Every item in the collection may either represent a document, a table, or anything else. NoSQL is again divided into further types, such as document store, column store, key-value store, and graph store.
###Document Database:
A document database is a type of nonrelational database that is designed to store and query data as JSON-like documents.
5. Couchbase:
Couchbase Server, originally known as Membase, is an open-source, distributed multi-model NoSQL document-oriented database software package optimized for interactive applications. These applications may serve many concurrent users by creating, storing, retrieving, aggregating, manipulating, and presenting data. Couchbase DB also has good support for mobile application development and offline sync.
6. MongoDB:
This is yet another popular no-sql DBMS. MongoDB is a source-available cross-platform document-oriented database program. Classified as a NoSQL database program, MongoDB uses JSON-like documents with optional schemas.
###Graph Database:
In computing, a graph database is a database that uses graph structures for semantic queries with nodes, edges, and properties to represent and store data. A key concept of the system is the graph. The Data is stored and computed in DBMS which is based on Graph theory that's why this DBMS is referred to as Graph Database. This DBMS is used in social media applications, compliance, fraud detection, and risk management.
###7. Neo4j:
Neo4j is a graph database management system developed by Neo4j, Inc. and described by its developers as an ACID-compliant transactional database with native graph storage and processing. Powered by a native graph database, Neo4j stores and manages data in its more natural, connected state, maintaining data relationships that deliver lightning-fast queries, a deeper context for analytics, and a pain-free modifiable data model.
###Key-Value Store:
A key-value database, or key-value store, is a data storage paradigm designed for storing, retrieving, and managing associative arrays, and a data structure more commonly known today as a dictionary or hash table.
8. Redis:
Redis is an in-memory data structure store, used as a distributed, in-memory key–value database, cache and message broker, with optional durability. Redis supports different kinds of abstract data structures, such as strings, lists, maps, sets, sorted sets, HyperLogLogs, bitmaps, streams, and spatial indices.
Column Oriented OR Columnar DBMS:
A column-oriented DBMS or columnar DBMS is a database management system that stores data tables by column rather than by row. Benefits include more efficient access to data when only querying a subset of columns and more options for data compression. However, they are typically less efficient for inserting new data.
9. Apache Hbase:
This Database is most popular in the BigData stack. Its widely used for analytics works. HBase is an open-source non-relational distributed database modeled after Google's Bigtable and written in Java. It is developed as part of Apache Software Foundation's Apache Hadoop project and runs on top of HDFS or Alluxio, providing Bigtable-like capabilities for Hadoop.
10. Apache Cassandra:
Cassandra is a free and open-source, distributed, wide-column store, NoSQL database management system designed to handle large amounts of data across many commodity servers, providing high availability with no single point of failure. This is very useful in time-series data. Apache Cassandra is an open-source NoSQL distributed database trusted by thousands of companies for scalability and high availability without compromising performance. Linear scalability and proven fault tolerance on commodity hardware or cloud infrastructure make it the perfect platform for mission-critical data.
Conclusion:
In this article, you are able to understand the different DBMS free available options. This is just a glimpse of that Database information, You can do an assessment and find pros and cons with your business needs and context.
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