How to Choose a Database?

Before choosing a database, we must understand the types of databases that exist. 1.Relational Databases (1970s) In 1970, Edgar F. Codd proposed storing data in tables (relations) and treating them using mathematical principles. This led to the creation of Relational Databases. They offer: Atomicity Consistency Isolation Durability (ACID properties) Examples include: MySQL PostgreSQL Relational databases are powerful when data is structured and transactional consistency is critical. However, as systems scale and joins grow across millions of rows, performance tuning and horizontal scaling become challenging. 2.Key–Value Databases (2000s Scaling Era) In the 2000s, companies like Amazon faced massive scalability challenges. Instead of complex relational joins, they proposed storing data as: Key → Value For example: UserID → List of Orders A popular example is: Redis Key–Value databases offer: Extremely fast lookups Easy horizontal scaling Great performance for caching and session storage