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How do you know what type of database to use and when? Will Relational, Entity, Object or XML be the right choice for you? Let us guide you to the best decision.

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Empower your data

Managing your company data through effective and well designed databases is essential for effective computing.

What is a Database?

At it's most basic, a database is simply a collection of organized data. There are multiple variations of database models, each suited to a different set of purposes and an even wider array of different products available each claiming to be what you need. Having a reliable adviser that can guide you to the best solution will save much of the headache and expense that will result from the wrong choice.

Common Models

The Relational Model is probably the most popular and well known type of database and dates back to 1969. IBM's DB2, Oracle Database, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and MySQL are just a few of the management systems that are designed around using this form. The chances are that if you are using a database in your day-to-day work then it will be Relational.

Entity-relationship Model (ERM) dates back to 1976 and is often represented in flow charts. It is most commonly found in software such as ARIS, System Architect, Visio, PowerDesigner, Toad Data Modeler, DeZign for Databases, Devgems Data Modeler, OmniGraffle, MySQL Workbench. In practise these suites use an underlying relational model to store the actual data, and use ERM to visualize it to the end user.

The Object Model is a very specialized form of database that is better matched with Object oriented programming than the relational model. The Object Model is better geared towards handling complex multimedia and computer aided design and is usually closely tied to the application being used.

XML can also be considered as a database model, and is increasing used as a form of data transport (a common language between different models). The reason for this is due it's flexibility in handling different types of data, although Object and Relational databases are generally better suited for actual use due to performance.

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