 |
VOOZH | about |
|
VOOZH | about |
By Mark Drake
Manager, Developer Education
Database management systems (DBMS) are computer programs that allow users to interact with a database. A DBMS allows users to control access to a database, write data, run queries, and perform any other tasks related to database management.
In order to perform any of these tasks, though, the DBMS must have some kind of underlying model that defines how the data are organized. The relational model is one approach for organizing data that has found wide use in database software since it was first devised in the late 1960s, so much so that, as of this writing, four of the top five most popular DBMSs are relational.
This conceptual article outlines the history of the relational model, how relational databases organize data, and how they’re used today.
Thanks for learning with the DigitalOcean Community. Check out our offerings for compute, storage, networking, and managed databases.
Structured Query Language — commonly known as SQL — is a language used to define, control, manipulate, and query data held in a relational database. SQL has been widely adopted since it was first developed in the 1970s, and today it’s the predominant language used to manage relational database management systems.
Ideal for managing structured data (data that can fit neatly into an existing data model), SQL is an essential tool for developers and system administrators in a wide variety of contexts. Also, because of its maturity and prevalence, candidates with SQL experience are highly sought after for jobs across a number of industries.
This series is intended to help you get started with using SQL. It includes a mix of conceptual articles and tutorials which provide introductions to various SQL concepts and practices. You can also use the entries in this series for reference while you continue to hone your skills with SQL.
Note: Please be aware that the tutorials in this series use MySQL in examples, but many RDBMSs use their own unique implementations of SQL. Although the commands outlined in this tutorial will work on most RDBMSs, the exact syntax or output may differ if you test them on a system other than MySQL.
Browse Series: 27 tutorials
Former Technical Writer at DigitalOcean. Focused on SysAdmin topics including Debian 11, Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Databases, SQL and PostgreSQL.
This textbox defaults to using Markdown to format your answer.
You can type !ref in this text area to quickly search our full set of tutorials, documentation & marketplace offerings and insert the link!
Thanks for the clear explanation! I’m curious—how do you decide when to use a relational database over a NoSQL database, especially in modern web applications with large, unstructured data?
Full documentation for every DigitalOcean product.
The Wave has everything you need to know about building a business, from raising funding to marketing your product.
