A database management system [DBMS] is a software package designed to store, retrieve, query and manage data. User interfaces [UIs] allows data to be created, read, updated and deleted by authorized entities.
Database management systems are important because they provides programmers, database administrators and end users with a centralized view of data and free applications and end users from having to understand where data is physically located. APIs [application program interfaces] handle requests and responses for specific types of data over the internet.
Relational and non-relational DBMS components delivered over the internet may be referred to as DBaaS [database as a service] in marketing materials. According to the research firm Gartner, database management systems designed to support distributed data in the cloud currently account for half of the total DBMS market.
Well-known DBMSes include:
- Access – a lightweight relational database management system [RDMS] included in Microsoft Office and Office 365.
- Amazon RDS – a native cloud DBMS that offers engines for managing MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server, PostgreSQL and Amazon Aurora databases.
- Apache Cassandra - an open-source distributed database management system known for being able to handle massive amounts of data.
- Filemaker - a low-code/no-code [LCNC] relational DBMS.
- MySQL – an open-source relational database management system [RDBMS] owned by Oracle.
- MariaDB - an open-source fork of MySQL.
- Oracle - a proprietary relational database management system optimized for hybrid cloud architectures.
- SQL Server – an enterprise-level relational database management system from Microsoft that is capable of handling extremely large volumes of data and database queries.
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Techopedia Explains Database Management System [DBMS]
DBMS users include database administrators [DBAs], application programmers and end users.
Most of the time, database administrators are the only ones to directly interact with a DBMS. Today, programmers typically use cloud APIs to interact with a DBMS and end users typically read and write to the database through front-end interfaces created by programmers.
Back-end components of a DBMS include:
Catalog/Dictionary -- provides metadata management services for a data in the database.
Data utilities – manage backups and restores, data integrity checks and reporting.
Database access language -- provides a way for end users and application programs to access data. RDMSes, for example, use structured query language [SQL] as the default data access language.
Lock manager -- ensures multiple users can’t modify the same data simultaneously.
Log manager – provides a chronological record of database activity.
Optimization engine -- tunes database performance.
Query processor -- interprets user queries and returns requested output if permitted.
Storage engine -- carries out create, read, update and delete [CRUD] operations.
User policies – provides access controls.
Types of Database Management Systems
Until the turn of the century, database management systems were classified as either being relational or non-relational based on their structure and uses. Simply put, if the DBMS stored data in tables, it was referred to as a relational DBMS [RDBMS]. If it did not store data in tables, it was referred to as a non-relational DBMS.
Today, database management systems are still be categorized as being either RDBMS or non-RDBMS, but they are also categorized by the advantages they provide in the cloud.
In-memory database management systems [IMDBMS] – designed to reduce latency by using main memory for data management and storage.
Columnar database management systems [CDBMS] – designed to return queries faster by storing data in columns instead of rows.
Distributed database management systems – designed to ensure data integrity for logically-related databases.
Hierarchical database management system – designed to support databases organized in parent-child relationships.
Network database management system – designed to support many-to-many relationships.
Object-oriented database management system [OODBMS] – designed to handle a large number of data types.
Cloud DBMS – designed to manage distributed data stored in one or more clouds.
HTAP DBMS – designed to support mixed workloads for transactional and analytical data.
Graph DBMS – designed to support graph databases that store relationships at the individual record level.
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