What is Database?
A database is an organized system for storing, managing, and querying data. Main types: Relational databases (SQL) like PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite - data in tables with relationships; NoSQL databases like MongoDB (documents), Redis (key-value), Neo4j (graphs) - flexible structures. CRUD operations: Create, Read, Update, Delete. For websites, databases store: user accounts, content (CMS), products (e-commerce), orders, analytics. ORM tools (Prisma, Drizzle) simplify database access in code. Cloud databases: Supabase, PlanetScale, Firebase. Backups and indexing are critical for performance and security.
Key Points
- Organized data storage
- SQL (relational) vs. NoSQL (flexible)
- CRUD: Create, Read, Update, Delete
- ORM tools: Prisma, Drizzle
- Cloud: Supabase, PlanetScale
- Backups and indexing critical
Practical Example
“Our CMS uses SQLite for easy deployment and PostgreSQL in production for scalability.”