Updated May 11, 2023
Is MongoDB NoSQL?
Yes, MongoDB is a NoSQL Database. MongoDB is an open-source NoSQL database. MongoDB is a document-based database. MongoDB is one of the leading NoSQL databases. A NoSQL database, a non-relational database, can process structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data.
What is MongoDB?
MongoDB is an open-source database management system (DBMS) that uses a document-oriented database model. MongoDB is written in C++. MongoDB supports various forms of data. MongoDB stores data in flat files using their binary storage objects. Data storage is very compact and efficient, perfect for high data volumes. MongoDB stores data in JSON-like documents, making the database flexible and scalable.
MongoDB is a document-oriented database model. Each MongoDB database contains collections and which in turn have documents. Each document can be different and depends on the varying number of fields. The model of each document will be different in size and content from each other. The data model features allow storing arrays and complex structures in a hierarchical relationship.
What is NoSQL?
NoSQL is a new database management system breed that fundamentally differs from relational database systems. NoSQL database is a highly scalable and flexible database management system. NoSQL database allows users to store and process unstructured and semi-structured data; this feature is impossible in RDBMS tools. NoSQL is an approach to database design that can accommodate a wide variety of data models, including key-value, document, columnar and graph formats. NoSQL systems don’t generally provide the same level of data consistency as SQL databases. SQL databases have traditionally sacrificed scalability and performance for ACID properties. NoSQL databases guarantee high speed and scalability performance. NoSQL systems have the architecture in such a way to operate at high speed and have wider flexibility towards the developer side.
Can MongoDB Replace NoSQL?
We had limitations with Relational Databases for storing and processing the large volume of social media and web data. NoSQL database was a rescue for Big Data. NoSQL database allowed the programme1r to execute the database with ease and efficiency. NoSQL database is of four types. NoSQL can handle far more data in terms of volume and complexity. NoSQL databases are either schema-free or have relaxed schemas. MongoDB provides an aggregation feature for batch processing to process your data efficiently. We use the Map Reduce model for aggregation operations.
A MapReduce is a programming model composed of two procedures: Map() and Reduce().Map() method performs filtering and sorting, while Reduce() procedure performs a summary operation. MongoDB can run over multiple servers. The data is duplicated to keep the system up and keep its running condition in hardware failure. MongoDB is a schema-less database. In MongoDB architecture – there are different documents in one collection. The collection is schema-less to have other content, fields, and size comparing another document in the same collection. The features of NoSQL align with the offering of MongoDB. So, NoSQL cannot replace MongoDB, or MongoDB cannot replace NoSQL.
Characteristics of MongoDB
Below are the characteristics of MongoDB:
- MongoDB is Schema-Less: MongoDB is a schema-less database which flexible than traditional database tables. It is written in the language C++. It has no schema to have many fields, content, and size different from another document in the same collection.
- High Performance: MongoDB is an open-source database with high performance. MongoDB is a high-availability and scalability database. It supports faster query response because of features like indexing and replication.
- MongoDB Indexing: Indexing is very important for improving the performance of search queries. MongoDB uses indexing of datasets to enhance query performances and searches. MongoDB indexing enhances the performance for the faster search query. Document in a MongoDB can be used for indexing using primary and secondary indices.
- File Storage: MongoDB can be used as a file system with load balancing and data replication features over multiple machines for storing files.
- Replication: The feature of replication is to distribute data to multiple nodes. It can have primary nodes and secondary nodes to replicate data. Replication of data is done using master-slave architecture. MongoDB provides a replication feature by distributing data across multiple machines.
- Sharding: This process distributes data across multiple physical partitions called shards due to sharding MongoDB automatic process load balancing. We use sharding in cases where we need to work on larger datasets.
Characteristics of NoSQL
Below are the characteristics of NoSQL:
- Multi-Model: This feature of NoSQL databases makes them highly flexible when handling data.
- Easily Scalable: This feature of NoSQL databases easily scales to adapt to the massive volumes and complexity of cloud applications. This scalability improves performance, allowing continuous availability and high read/write speeds.
- Flexible: This feature of NoSQL databases allows you to process all varieties of data. It can process structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data. It works on many processors—NoSQL systems will enable you to store your database on multiple processors and maintain high-speed performance.
- Less Downtime: The elastic nature of NoSQL allows for the workload to be spread across any number of servers automatically.
Difference Between MongoDB and NoSQL
- A MongoDB “database” is a top-level container that consists of one or more collections, while NoSQL data stores provide a top-level namespace or container for storing data.
- The document store data model is the basis of MongoDB, where documents are stored in BSON format.
BSON format is a binary JSON format. NoSQL is an open-source document database that provides high performance and scalability and data modeling and managing massive data sets in an enterprise application. - MongoDB supports advanced features for searching any field, range of queries, or regular expression, while NoSQL databases are more flexible in data storage and processing.
- MongoDB uses the features of sharding to scale horizontally. Simultaneously, NoSQL systems allow you to drag and drop your data into a folder and query it without creating an entity-relational model.
Conclusion
Many organizations like Adobe, LinkedIn, and MacAfee, SAP uses MongoDB as a database. The New York Times uses MongoDB NoSQL for photo submission and deploys it for form-building applications. MongoDB offers advanced and powerful features to parse all semi-structured and unstructured data. MongoDB NoSQL and commercial versions are available in the community through vendor MongoDB Inc.
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