Relational Databases

Learn about relational databases and their key characteristics.

What is a relational database?

We use relational databases to store data that we can group into relations or tables. For example, a customer database might have a table for customers, a table for orders, and a table for product information. Each table would have a different purpose, but all data in the database would be related. Relationships are like links between tables. They allow us to connect the data from one table to another. For example, we could use a relationship to connect a customer’s name with their order information.

Characteristics of relational databases

Some of the key characteristics of relational databases are given below:

Predefined schema: We can organize data into relations or tables. Tables are comprised of rows and columns. Rows are also called records. Columns are also called fields. Once the structure of a table is defined, it’s difficult to change later.

Uses SQL queries or commands: We can access data in any order we want using the various SQL commands. SQL is the most prevalent language for accessing and manipulating databases. It’s easy to learn and powerful enough to handle complex queries.

Easy to query: Relational databases are easy to query because we can use SQL to select data from multiple tables. SQL is easy to learn and powerful enough to handle complex queries.

...

Quick to dev ...