How Should You Choose The Best Database For Web Applications?

One of the biggest challenges that businesses face for their web application is finding the best database system. One should not rush into any decision as there are certain factors that they need to take into consideration before short listing one. Take your time and research properly to select the best.

There is no single database that caters to your business application. The right database should be of the right size, structure, speed, and scalability. You need to ascertain what your individual needs are to get the best database for your web application. There are options for workarounds, but they might not be ideally possible for giving you credible results.

Traits of a good database that will work for the web application

The following are the traits of a good database-

Structure- The data storage depends upon whether the data is structured or unstructured. There again is semi-structured data that comes in between these two. The better structured the data, the better it can be accessed and later analyzed. When it comes to highly structured data, you will find it is quantitative to no small extent. It covers dates, ratings, numbers, and other organized data that can be searched, stored, and later analyzed. Data that is unstructured that is complex and covers audios, videos, social media posts, and other kinds of data that is variable. This data is tough for you to search, store, and analyze. Semi-structured data is the data that comes in between highly structured and structured spectrums. Examples of unstructured data are email, JSON, RDF, and CSV, among others.

Size of the database –The size of your database will successfully determine the volume of data that needs to be stored and later retrieved. The database can partition the data across several platforms, servers, and systems.

Speed – The speed of the database needs to be good for your developers. Some database systems have been completely optimized for read-heavy apps, and others have been designed for write- heavy sites.

Scalability – Some systems grow with businesses better than others. You should research and take the time to know whether your web app needs a vertical scaling or a horizontal scaling. Horizontal scaling means that one can use more servers, and vertical scaling implies adding extra resources to the existing servers. Several databases are linked to each other, and every one of them has different drawbacks.

Struggling with finding the right database- ask these questions

If you are struggling to get the best database for your web application, you should ask yourself the following questions-

What are your specific business goals? What does your application want to accomplish?
The kind of data that you want to store?
Determine what is essential, long term data storage or big data insert rates?
The number of queries for every hour, minute, or day?
What language for coding are you using?
Do you need a clear relationship between sets of data or something more flexible in nature?
How important is scalability for you?

What about SQL based databases- are they good for you?

If your business does not have fast growth, you should consider getting an SQL database for the web application. This database is based on structured data. If your web application uses data that is unstructured, the SQL database offers you several advantages. Esteemed professionals from credible database management service company RemoteDBA say that you can get several versions of the SQL database, and they are MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, and more. However, if you want a database that is reliable and predictable, use the standard SQL database.

The data here are generally stored in rows and columns called tables. The data is quantitative so that it can be stored faster and quickly. Retrieval of data becomes simple as well. But, these databases find it challenging to perform well. So, you need to ensure that you have the right team of database administrators who take care of your database’s integrity.

What are the strong points of the SQL database?

This database is-

Structured well
The data can be stored and retrieved easily and
It is ideal for diverse user permissions

However, there are some weak points of the SQL database that you must know. They are-

Not suitable for unstructured or semi-structured data
The database costs more than the non-relational database system, especially during scaling.

The SQL database is perfect for-

Applications where the data integrity is indispensable, like defense, e-commerce, medical records, and financial records
Quantitative data
Automated assistance for the customer
Automation of the internal process

What about NoSQL database solutions for your web application?

If you do not find the answer with SQL database solutions, you should choose the NoSQL database. Here, you get the solutions of crucial value, wide columns, and documents. These databases can store data in the form of XML, JSON, and BSON formats. They include Redi, Cassandra, MongoDB, Couchbase, and Apache with others. The documents can contain all types of data and deploy a flexible schema. It will not enforce any document structure.

The plus points for this database is-

Flexible and can manage structured and unstructured data
The users can make alterations to the documents without negatively affecting the other documents
The write speed is fast.
The database is simple for horizontally scaling.

Disadvantages of the NoSQL database

The weaknesses or the disadvantages that this database has is-

ACID compliance is very weak
Inter-document querying cannot be done

This database is perfect for situations where the developer is not sure about the source of incoming data. It allows for rapid prototype and management of content. The data can be analyzed easily.

Therefore when it comes to determining the right database for the web application, ensure you consider the above factors. In this way, you can get the proper database for your needs without hassles.