When searching for the right database to use for a particular application, you have a number of determinations to make. Depending on the structure of your data, how much data you have, how fast queries need to be, and other considerations, a MySQL database may just be the tool that best fits the job at hand.
What is MySQL?
MySQL is a popular open-source relational database management system (RDBMS), which means the database model is a set of relations. The idea is to have a very organized structure with data that is always consistent, preferably with no duplication. This can be achieved by properly normalizing the database.
What are some advantages of MySQL?
Consistent data – A normalized MySQL database is quite reliable when it comes to having accurate data when queried. Since there is no duplicate data stored in another location, any query for a piece of data will return the most current and correct data.
Use of SQL – SQL (Structured Query Language) is a very popular means of writing queries that can add, update, or retrieve stored data. This means that many developers and database administrators will already be familiar with the query syntax that will be needed when working with MySQL.
An example of SQL syntax. Source: 1KeyData.
ACID model – ACID stands for Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability. This helps to ensure that all database transactions are reliable. For example, atomicity means that if any part of a database transaction should fail, then the entire transaction fails (even if some parts of it would succeed). This helps prevent the potential problems that can occur if partial transactions are executed.
When is MySQL the right tool?
MySQL can be more difficult to scale than a NoSQL database, so if you have a very large amount of data that will consistently be growing in size, you may want to consider a NoSQL solution, which allows for quick storage and queries with fewer round trips to the database.
On the other hand, MySQL is typically the right tool in situations where you need your data and any transactions dealing with the data to be consistent and reliable. This is certainly true when you are dealing with sensitive data such as financial or confidential information, which needs to be accurate at all times.
Of course, there are also cases where you deal with both big data and sensitive data. In such instances, you can get both MySQL and a NoSQL system to work together to use the best features of each database where they are needed.
An example of MySQL and MongoDB modeling the same data. Source: ScaleBase.
Get a Hosted MySQL Database
If you want to use MySQL for your application, one way to do so is to use a service like Morpheus, which offers databases as a service on the cloud. With Morpheus, you can easily set up one or more databases (including MongoDB, ElasticSearch, and more).
In addition to this, all databases are deployed on a high performance infrastructure with Solid State Drives, and are backed up, replicated, and archived. Open a free account today!
