This article 'MongoDB vs MySQL' will give you a detailed understanding of these two most popular database tools.
Database services have become the backbone of web applications or software development. The industry has many types of data services and MongoDB and MySQL are two of the most popular among them. Both of these are database management systems (DBMS) used for extracting data and creating reports. Many companies and individuals often get confused about which one to use for their operations.
Both are designed in different manners and are best for different applications. MySQL has way more uses than MongoDB but MongoDB is not behind in terms of popularity. Choosing one of them depends on many factors that we will discuss in this complete comparative guide between MongoDB vs MySQL.
Let's understand what MongoDB is before exploring the differences between these two DBMSs. MongoDB is a free and open database management system. The principle of its design is different from traditional relational systems. It is a NoSQL system that has significantly different methods for storing data and representing information.
It is just opposite to the table and row format which are used in relational systems. This system uses documents that hold a series of different key or value pairs including arrays and nests. These documents are self describing that gives a flexible approach to store the key and value pairs. This means these pairs can vary from document to document.
MySQL is a relational database management system (RDBMS) developed by Oracle. It is also open source and free technology. The principle of its design is just like other RDBMS that store data in tables and rows. It enforces referential integrity and employs SQL (Structured Query Language) for data access.
Data models and database schemas are predefined which means only the data that match this schema will be stored. Schema migration must be performed when storing a new type of data which is a complicated process. Data extraction is done by using an SQL query that joins different tables together to target the required information. This rigid approach to data processing gives flexibility and security.
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Now that we have explored the basics of MySQL and MongoDB, let's explore their differences. Both of these are different in many ways. These differences include data structures, features, performance and more. The following are the common key differences between MongoDB vs MySQL.
MySQL is an RDBMS that stores information in rows, columns and tables. Each column of a row will represent a different type of data. Foreign keys and primary keys are used to define relationships between this data. Each table will have a primary key as its identity and a foreign key defining the data relationship.
MongoDB is a document oriented DBMS that stores all entire information in Binary JSON (BJSON) documents. BSON can serialize many types of information including unstructured, structured and partially structured data. This database management system uses a flexible approach for storing documents in collections instead of a database schema.
The MySQL database system has two scaling options which are vertical scaling and read replication. One can choose any of them according to their requirements. Vertical scalability adds additional resources to the current database server. Read replication creates read only replicas of the datastore on other servers. It is restricted to five copies. Using these options creates performance issues.
MongoDB is designed to give a significant benefit in terms of scalability. It also has two key options for scaling including Replica sets and Sharding. Replica sets are groups of different servers consisting of identical data. Sharding uses a different approach in that parts of data are scattered among different servers. It can thus scale horizontally to optimize the performance.
The structure of MySQL is designed to build great performance joins among multiple tables. These tables should be appropriately indexed. Here data has to be inserted row by row which takes a lot of time. This results in significantly slower performance. It might be a problem when dealing with complicated data sets.
MongoDB documents have a hierarchical data model that stores most of the information in a single document. This results in less requirement to join among different documents. Joins are indeed used here with the help $lookup method but are not optimized for performance. This system has an insertMany() API that inserts data rapidly.
MySQL lacks flexibility as a relational database management system. It uses a fixed schema to store and organize data into rows and columns. This means individuals have to structure data in a unique format to insert it into a tabular system. It will be a time consuming process that leads to performance issues.
MongoDB can be used in developing complicated applications with many distinct data formats. It does not have a lot of restrictions in terms of data types. Individuals can build a new field by just updating the nested array field. They can also leverage the aggregation pipeline feature to transform data. It combines many operations into one workflow.
One can control access to the collection, operations and database levels in MongoDB. It uses X.509, LDAP and Kerberos certificates to authenticate users. MySQL can restrict databases and tables on the user level. It uses its own authentication system. This approach is more secure than the one used by MongoDB. This security feature is beneficial in avoiding SQL injection attacks.
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MongoDB vs MySQL are indeed districts in several ways but also have some similarities. One must also see the similarities in order to choose the best one. Both of these are database management systems. They store information and have a user interface and query language. One can use them for adding, editing, modifying and analyzing data.
Both of these systems are available to all due to the open source licenses. Individuals can download their free versions from the official websites. Then they can alter the program based on their requirement. MySQL comes under the GNU General Public License. MongoDB versions that are released before October 16, 2018, come under the GNU Affero General Public License.
Both of these systems use indexing to improve query speeds and performance. Indexes are basically database structures that connect with frequently accessed information. These are best to detect and retrieve information very quickly. Hash indexes and B-tree indexes are some of the instances used by these database systems.
Both of these are easy to use. They have a NLP query language to configure and read data. They also have a graphical user interface (GUI) for managing and analyzing data more visually. Both of these are compatible with many of the same programming languages. These coding languages are Java, Node.js, server-side PHP, Python, Ruby and C#.
Both of these systems use access control, authentication and encryption methodologies to secure their databases. TLS/SSL encryption is a way to protect data in transit and at rest used by them. They also authenticate you to define different levels for user access.
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There are many advantages of MongoDB over MySQL. Both of them are of course designed in different ways as we discussed above. MongoDB gives way better performance and results in some areas due to its design. Individuals must be aware of these benefits before choosing one of them. The following are the common MongoDB advantages over MySQL -
MongoDB has a flexible schema model that can store multiple data types. MySQL does not have this feature and can only store the data types that are predefined. Database schemas have to be updated or data has to be manipulated in a predefined format before storing a new type of data. MongoDB performs faster when updating or inserting large amounts of data compared to MySQL.
MongoDB is designed to scale horizontally by sharding. It can easily distribute data among multiple servers and manage humongous data volumes. This gives a fast and optimized performance when dealing with more complicated data compared to MySQL. MySQL lacks this feature as it has many limitations in terms of data types.
MongoDB has a document structure that is often reliable to object oriented programming languages. This results in simplified data interaction and minimum requirements for complicated ORM layers. MySQL is just the opposite of this DBMS in this instance as it uses a tabular format for data storage.
Explore this MongoDB Tutorial to understand this database better.
We have explored many things about these management systems. It is time to understand the best uses of these DBMSs. This will guide you to choose the best one for your purpose. Both of these are best in different use cases which are explained below -
MySQL is suitable for online analytical processing and data warehousing due to its data storage process. It is compliant with ACID which means transactions will be atomic, consistent, isolated and durable. This will be the best choice when performing complicated transactions in e-commerce and financial use cases.
It also has highly structured data which is best in ad hoc queries. Ad hoc queries are often hosted by data analysts. This gives quick access to information that is not accessible through predefined queries or reports.
MongoDB is appropriate to use when working with unstructured data. It is used for instances like social networks, social media or the Internet of Things (IoT). It will be a good choice when dealing with dynamic data that keeps changing in type and size. This use case is possible due to its document printed design.
This comparative guide has talked about many differences between MongoDB vs MySQL. Both of these DBMS have different approaches for database management and best in different applications. It has explained when it is suitable to use one over the other. We hope this information has cleared your thoughts to choose one of them.
MySQL gives rapid performance when selecting a humongous amount of records. It is suitable for structured data only. MongoDB gives more flexibility when working with structured, partially structured and unstructured data. This means the choice for the better one depends on the use case.
It depends on your requirements. If you want to work with a traditional database then MySQL will be the better choice. If you want a scalable database system then MongoDB will be a better option. Both of these are user friendly and easy to learn. MySQL comes as a better choice when considering building a career in this field due to its wide popularity.
MongoDB is indeed good when dealing with humongous amounts of data. It gives scalability due to its object oriented design. It can manage almost any type of data including structured, unstructured and partially structured.
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