B5 - SQL

SQL, which stands for Structured Query Language, is a language used in programming to manage data held in a relational database management system. It is often used in financial companies because they can organize their customer data into rows and columns. SQL is important for easily updating data on a database, or extracting information from a database. The characteristics of SQL servers allowed for only one change in the database to occur at a time to ensure that no conflicting transactions were made. It is a very simple language that serves very simple tasks. However, analysts wanted SQL to provide more information, such as providing trends in their data. This caused data to be split into two categories, operational and analytical, so that they can play with data without interfering with the live database. Companies have been shifting to NoSQL databases because they can handle bigger and complex tasks, and they come in many forms. For example, NoSQL databases can be a columnar database, which deals with long lists of data, such as log files. This is used by many sites that we are familiar with, like Google, Youtube, and Gmail. Another form is Key-value, which uses defined rules to sift through large amounts of unstructured data. Databases now include both SQL and NoSQL to take advantage of their benefits. 

Hadoop is sort of a database that stores and processes data. It can be found on some of the biggest sites we all use, such as Facebook, Yelp, and Twitter. The problem with Hadoop is that it is not user friendly. It requires a trained expert in large data to manage it since it does not use SQL. Now, Hadoop is paired with simple SQL databases so that more people can use it. An interesting quote from the article was, "If you know what you're doing, [Hadoop is] really not competing with us," Graham said. "It's the difference between a big Ford truck and a BMW sedan. Do they compete? A little, yes. But if you do best-pick engineering, you'll get what you need. If you're carrying refrigerators, or bags of cement, you don't want to put them in a BMW. You put it in a Ford F150." This was a great analogy because sometimes a company does not care about how their data is being processed or stored. They may only care that the task is being done. So, it is up to the company on whether or not they want to settle for SQL or explore more complex databases. 

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Comments:
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Abdul,
I do not know much about databases but object-oriented databases seem very user-friendly. It seems to organize data in a clean and logical manner, making it easier for users to share data with each other. I like how you included a diagram to show the different layers of this type of database. It gave me a better understanding of how the database is organized.

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Dane,
I agree that the use of databases can improve productivity and quality in construction. Although some people are hesitant about using technology on site, it can allow information to be sent faster, which will save tons of money for the owner. I once had to do a survey of a building and we carried around an iPad that had an app where we could mark up the floor plans as we walked through the building. Everyone on the team had access to this app, and the marks were automatically synced to the system so that everyone could immediately see what we were doing.

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Douha,
Sometimes I am not aware that we use databases almost every day. I like how you mentioned that the Drexel Term Master Schedule is a database that we are all familiar with. This database collects and groups data based on relations, such as the course name, CRN, instructor, etc. as you explained. This shows that databases make our lives easier