RDBMS vs DBMS – What’s the Difference?

Posted on by Ian

There’s a lot of confusion regarding the difference between an RDBMSs and a DBMS. I’ve even seen “RDBMS vs DBMS” forum posts where the accepted answer outlines the differences between RDBMSs and DBMSs, as though they were two distinct and different things.

However, this can be misleading.

The fact is, an RDBMS is a DBMS. But a DBMS is not always an RDBMS (but it often is).

So, is there a difference between an RDBMS and a DBMS or not? Is “RDBMS vs DBMS” the right way of looking at it, or is there more to it?

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How to Install SQL Server on a Mac

Posted on by Ian

Here I’ll show you how to get SQL Server up and running on your Mac in less than half an hour. And the best part is, you’ll have SQL Server running locally without needing any virtualization software.

Prior to SQL Server 2017, if you wanted to run SQL Server on your Mac, you first had to create a virtual machine (using VirtualBox, Parallels Desktop, VMware Fusion, or Bootcamp), then install Windows onto that VM, then finally SQL Server. This is still a valid option depending on your requirements (here’s how to install SQL Server on a Mac with VirtualBox if you’d like to try that method).

Starting with SQL Server 2017, you can now install SQL Server directly on to a Linux machine. And because macOS is Unix based (and Linux is Unix based), you can run SQL Server for Linux on your Mac. The way to do this is to run SQL Server on Docker.

So let’s go ahead and install Docker. Then we’ll download and install SQL Server.

But first… if you’re using a Mac with the M1 chip, see How to Install SQL Server on an M1 Mac (ARM64).

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What is a Document Store Database?

Posted on by Ian

A document store database (also known as a document-oriented database, aggregate database, or simply document store or document database) is a database that uses a document-oriented model to store data.

Document store databases store each record and its associated data within a single document. Each document contains semi-structured data that can be queried against using various query and analytics tools of the DBMS.

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What is a Key-Value Database?

Posted on by Ian

A key-value database (also known as a key-value store and key-value store database) is a type of NoSQL database that uses a simple key/value method to store data.

The key-value part refers to the fact that the database stores data as a collection of key/value pairs. This is a simple method of storing data, and it is known to scale well.

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What is NoSQL?

Posted on by Ian

NoSQL is a term that refers loosely to a particular type of database model, or database management system (DBMS).

NoSQL is a very broad term that doesn’t refer to one particular database model. Rather, it refers to a whole variety of different models that don’t fit into the relational model.

Although NoSQL databases have been around since the 1960s, it wasn’t until the early 2000s that the NoSQL approach started to pick up steam, and a whole new generation of NoSQL systems began to hit the market.

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What does ACID mean in Database Systems?

Posted on by Ian

In database systems, ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) refers to a standard set of properties that guarantee database transactions are processed reliably.

ACID is especially concerned with how a database recovers from any failure that might occur while processing a transaction.

An ACID-compliant DBMS ensures that the data in the database remains accurate and consistent despite any such failures.

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