What Is Relational Database (RDB)?

Relational databases are the opposite of a messy closet. When your closet is full of clothes and shoes that need to be organized by color, size or season, it can be hard to find what you're looking for. It's also challenging to see what you have, so you may need help to decide what to purchase next and when you do buy something new, it might be the wrong color or size because it's hard to tell what's inside that pile. Relational databases, on the other hand, are like a well-organized closet where everything has its place. You can easily find what you're looking for because everything is organized by category and color-coded accordingly you get an accurate picture of what you have in your closet (and even how much), so purchasing new items is easy and makes sense. RDBs are like the Oracle of databases. The Structured Query Language is a standard user application that provides an easy programming interface for database interaction. Relational databases are like a group of people at a party. Each person has a name, and each person has some friends. They're all hanging out in one room together, but some people only know each other because they happen to be standing next. And some people know each other because they've been friends for years and years and years. But each person is unique—they have their personality, interests and hobbies, and likes and dislikes. You can't say that one person is just like another, even if they seem similar on the surface (hey, you two twin sisters!). That's how relational databases work: they organize your data into tables (the "people"), which contain columns (the "personalities"), rows (the "individuals"), records (the "individual instances") and functional dependencies (the "friendships"). So next time you create a database, think about whether your data needs organization more than they need flexibility or speed of access (or both!).