What is Database?

The Database is an essential part of our life. As we encounter several activities that involve our interaction with databases, for example in the bank, in the railway station, in school, in a grocery store, etc. These are the instances where we need to store a large amount of data in one place and fetch these data easily. 

A database is a collection of data that is organized, which is also called structured data. It can be accessed or stored in a computer system. It can be managed through a Database Management System (DBMS), a software used to manage data. Database refers to related data in a structured form. 

In a database, data is organized into tables consisting of rows and columns and it is indexed so data can be updated, expanded, and deleted easily. Computer databases typically contain file records data like transactions money in one bank account to another bank account, sales and customer details, fee details of students, and product details. There are different kinds of databases, ranging from the most prevalent approach, the relational database, to a distributed database, cloud database, and NoSQL databases.  

◉ Relational Database: 

A relational database is made up of a set of tables with data that fits into a predefined category.

◉ Distributed Database: 

A distributed database is a database in which portions of the database are stored in multiple physical locations, and in which processing is dispersed or replicated among different points in a network. 

◉ Cloud Database: 

A cloud database is a database that typically runs on a cloud computing platform. Database service provides access to the database. Database services make the underlying software-stack transparent to the user.

These interactions are the example of a traditional database where data is of one type-that is textual. In advancement of technology has led to new applications of database systems. New media technology has made it possible to store images, video clips. These essential features are making multimedia databases. 

Nowadays, people are becoming smart – before taking any decisions they analyze facts and figures related to it, which come from these databases. As the databases have made it easier to manage information, we are able to catch criminals and do deep research.

Source: geeksforgeeks.org