Database Fundamentals

Database Family: Types and Use Cases

you need to know how to use the database for webdevelopment and data storage is the base of the whole development.

1. Relational Database (RDBMS)

Definition: Stores data in structured tables with rows/columns and enforces relationships via keys.
Key Features:

• ACID compliance (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability)
• SQL query language
• Schema-defined structure
  Popular Systems:
• PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite
  When to Use:
• Financial transactions
• Applications requiring strict data integrity

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2. PostgreSQL

Why Stand Out?

• Advanced JSON support
• Full-text search
• Geospatial data handling
  Example SQL:

-- Create a user table
CREATE TABLE users (
  id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
  name VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,
  email VARCHAR(100) UNIQUE
);

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3. SQL (Structured Query Language)

Core Operations:

SELECT * FROM products WHERE price > 100;  -- Query data
INSERT INTO orders (user_id, total) VALUES (1, 99.99);  -- Insert data
UPDATE users SET status = 'active' WHERE id = 5;  -- Modify data

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Other database types

1. Graph Database

Definition: Uses nodes/edges to represent relationships (e.g., social networks).
Key Features:

• Optimized for relationship-heavy queries
• Flexible schema
  Tools:
• Neo4j, Amazon Neptune
  Use Case:

// Find friends of a user in Neo4j
MATCH (u:User {name: "Alice"})-[:FRIEND]->(friend) 
RETURN friend.name;

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ORM: Bridging Code and Databases

What is ORM?

Object-Relational Mapping converts database tables into code objects (e.g., JavaScript/Java classes).

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1. Doctrine with Symfony (PHP)

Setup:

composer require doctrine/orm

Entity Example:

// src/Entity/Product.php
namespace App\Entity;
use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping as ORM;

#[ORM\Entity]
class Product {
  #[ORM\Id]
  #[ORM\GeneratedValue]
  private ?int $id = null;
  
  #[ORM\Column(type: 'string')]
  private string $name;
}

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2. Node.js ORM Tools

Popular Libraries:

• Sequelize (Supports PostgreSQL/MySQL):

  const { Sequelize, Model } = require('sequelize');
  const sequelize = new Sequelize('postgres://user:pass@localhost:5432/dbname');
  
  class User extends Model {}
  User.init({ name: Sequelize.STRING }, { sequelize });

• TypeORM (TypeScript-friendly):

  import { Entity, PrimaryGeneratedColumn, Column } from "typeorm";
  
  @Entity()
  export class User {
    @PrimaryGeneratedColumn()
    id: number;
    
    @Column()
    name: string;
  }

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Pro Tip

When to Use What?

Scenario	Tool Recommendation
Strict data relationships	PostgreSQL + TypeORM
Rapid prototyping	SQLite + Sequelize
Social network features	Neo4j (Graph Database)

Learning Resources

• PostgreSQL Official Docs
• Neo4j Graph Academy
• TypeORM Getting Started

Tools

• Datagrip: use the database in one platform
• Prisma: