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Software Engineering vocabulary · Databases and Persistence

NoSQL

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

/ˌnoʊ ˌɛs kjuː ˈɛl/nounCore term

In software engineering, NoSQL means: A broad group of databases that do not use the classic table-and-SQL model, storing data as documents, key-value pairs, wide columns or graphs instead.

In Turkish: NoSQL, ilişkisel olmayan veritabanı

How it is used

Usually read as 'not only SQL'. Well-known examples are MongoDB (document), Redis (key-value), Cassandra (wide-column) and Neo4j (graph). NoSQL systems are chosen for flexible schemas, very high scale or special data shapes; many now support SQL-like queries too.

Example sentences

  1. We store user sessions in a NoSQL database and keep orders in PostgreSQL.

  2. Choosing NoSQL just because the schema might change is rarely a good reason.

Common collocations

  • NoSQL database
  • NoSQL store
  • SQL vs NoSQL
  • move to NoSQL
  • document databaseA NoSQL database that stores each item as a self-contained document, usually in a JSON-like format, so related data can be kept together without fixed tables.
  • key-value storeThe simplest kind of NoSQL database, which saves each value under a unique key and finds it again very quickly by that key.
  • graph databaseA NoSQL database that stores data as nodes connected by relationships, making it fast to follow links such as 'friends of friends'.
  • relational databaseA type of database that stores data in tables made of rows and columns and links tables to each other through keys. Data is usually managed with SQL.
  • CAP theoremThe idea that when a network failure splits a distributed database, it must choose between consistency (same data everywhere) and availability (always answering).

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Databases and Persistence

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