When to use SQL and NoSQL

 In this post you will know when to use SQL and NoSQL . This is question may rise from many of software developers what exactly difference between SQL and NoSQL and when to use SQL and NoSQL.

First let us understand why nosql came into IT Market though sql already exist.  The main reason is, with rise of social media,E commerce, search, and the explosion of data, SQL was struggling to manage all the requests, transactions, and activity occurring online. NoSQL is designed to manage lots of traffic and data.

SQL is used to communicate with Relational Databases. It is used to store ,update,delete the data.

 RDBMS stores the data in a very organized way in tabular format.

Examples for RDBMS are:

oracle, mysql, sql server

whereas nosql(not only sql) can store the data in different types of data together. Data is stored in many ways which means it can be document-oriented, column-oriented, graph-based or organized as a Key-value store. It is used for flexibility and therefore speed and scalability in managing large volumes of data.

There are four types of NoSQL databases.

Key value: data is stored as attribute names or keys with values

Document: contains many different key value pairs

Graph: used to store data related to connections or networks

Column: data is stored as columns instead of rows

Examples for nosql database are:

MongoDB, Cassandra, Redis, Couchbase, DynamoDB and Hbase

Now lets talk about when to use SQL and nosql

Use SQL instead of Nosql

You’re working with complex queries and reports. With SQL you can build one script that retrieves and presents your data. 

NoSQL doesn’t support relations between data types.

 SQL databases are a better fit for heavy duty or complex transactions because it’s more stable and ensure data integrity.

if you’re not working with a large volume of data and not expecting constant changing in your project then sql is best choice.

use nosql instead of sql

if You are not concerned about data consistency and 100% data integrity then no sql is best choice. 

For example, with social media platforms, it isn’t important if everyone sees your new post at the exact same time, which means data consistency is not a priority.

You have a lot of data, many different data types, and your data needs will only grow over time. NoSQL makes it easy to store all different types of data together and without having to invest time into defining what type of data you’re storing in advance.

It can’t guarantee ACID properties. In such cases like financial transactions, etc., you may go with SQL databases.

If you have local data transactions that need not be very durable.

if You are constantly adding new features, functions, data types then nosql is better choice.

The choice of the database will depend upon your preferences, business requirements, volume, and variety of data.

NoSQL databases are gaining large popularity these days due to their capacity to integrate big data, low cost, easy scalability, 

and open source features. However, it is still a relatively young technology and lacks standardization, unlike SQL which in 

turn creates some issues during migration. Lack of ACID compliance is also a concern with NoSQL.