Database software has been a pillar in web application development for over a decade. With the rise of more technologically savvy businesses every year, this is even more true in 2022. Data now touches almost every aspect of a technology company's business. The database is fundamental because it's where all the application's information is stored, which can be extremely large and also very expensive. There are a number of considerations you will want to think through as you're choosing the right database for your needs:
With so many developments in database technology in the past years, let's take a look at the top picks for 2022:
MySQL is one oldest and most mature database technologies out there and no list of top databases is complete without it. It is one of the most popular in the world for software development because of the stability and scale it is able to support. It is open-source and highly-performant. It is used by some of the largest companies in the world including Twitter, Google, Twitter and Facebook. MySQL is written in C and founded in 1995.
Postgres is the database of choice for software applications that need to access and write to data at scale. Postgres is the backing database of choice for everything from software SaaS tools, to large-scale consumer applications and more. It is an object-relational database management system that can support efficient speed and scale, even with complex table joins. It was originally founded in Berkeley and originally as named simply Postgres, but renamed to PostgreSQL to support the structured query language. It's use with almost all popular programming languages like Python, Go, Ruby, and Java. Companies that rely on Postgres include giants like Apple, Reddit, Instagram, and Spotify.
Unlike the first two database management systems listed, MongoDB is the first Document-Based Database as opposed to relational. MongoDB was created out of a need to handle object-oriented programming languages as it is one of the most popular non-relational databases. It shines when used with semi-structured data such as JSON blobs and text docs since it does not have schemas. Mongo can be highly performant when used in the right way, but it is very memory intensive and would not be the best choice if you wanted to carry out complex joins. It is not used widely throughout the industry by companies like Gap, eBay, Google, and SAP.
As you can probably guess by its name, SQLite is intended to be a lightweight SQL database founded in the year 2000. SQLiite doesn't require any configuration or installation and is thus considered serverless. It is very easy to use to create and edit data. It also features variable length data so you only use up the data storage space that you actually need. It is the database of choice of hobby projects and small business applications, and is also popular for mobile apps.
Microsoft SQL Server is a multi-model db founded in 1989 and written in C, C++. It supports both structured and semi-structured data. It lags behind both MySQL and PostgreSQL when it comes to performance, innovation, and popularity, but it has improved significantly throughout the years. It is available as part of Microsoft Azure as the Azure SQL server but can also be platform independent. Microsoft SQL server includes strong transactional support and persistent memory.
There you have it, the top 5 database management systems for developing your software application in 2022. Unsurprisingly, our top picks align with the most popular database on a Stack Overflow Developer Survey:
Once you have chosen your database, you'll want to set up alerts & automations on top of your data to monitor and streamline your business processes. You can get started quickly here with LogicLoop, which supports all popular databases detailed above. Happy querying!
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