Database – definition

A database is an ordered set of structured information or data that is usually stored electronically in a computer system. A database is usually managed by a database management system (DBMS). The data along with the DBMS, and the applications that are associated with it, are called a database system, or simply a database for short.

Data in the most common types of modern databases is usually stored in the form of rows and columns forming a table. This data can be easily managed, modified, updated, controlled, and organized. Most databases use structured query language (SQL) to record and query data.

Evolution of the database

Databases have changed considerably since their introduction in the early 1960s. The initial systems that were used to store and process data were navigational databases – for example, hierarchical databases (which relied on a tree model and allowed only one-to-many relationships) and networked databases (a more flexible model that allowed multiple relationships). Despite their simplicity, these early systems were inflexible. Relational databases became popular in the 1980s, followed by object-oriented databases in the 1990s. More recently, due to the growth of the Internet and the need to analyze unstructured data, NoSQL databases emerged. Nowadays, cloud databases and offline databases are opening up new possibilities in terms of how data can be collected, stored, used and managed.
What is the difference between a database and a spreadsheet?

Databases and spreadsheets (particularly Microsoft Excel) provide convenient ways to store information. The main differences between them are as follows.

How you store and process the data The authority to access the data How much data to store

Spreadsheets were originally designed for a single user, and their properties reflect this. They are great for a single user or a small number of users who do not need to perform complex data operations. Databases, on the other hand, are designed to store much larger sets of organized information sometimes in huge volumes. Databases allow multiple users to access and query data quickly and securely at the same time, using advanced logic and query language.