In the field of data analytics, knowing how to write an SQL query has become one of the most demanding skill in the field of technology. However you might say despite having multiple tools like Power BI and Excel where we can already create charts, KPIs, and get the similar kind of data. So what is the need of MySQL, why to even use it? So that is what we’re going to cover in our today’s article.
So in our today’s article we are going to discuss about MySQL such as what is MySQL, why MySQL is called as database, what are the types of MySQL databases and lastly how and where we use MySQL. So let’s get started.
What is MySQL?
MySQL is basically a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) where we can create tables. These tables contain various forms of data such as customer data, order details, and even delivery information. In each of these tables, there is something in common that connects them together, and we can retrieve the data from multiple tables at the same time by writing a single query. This is what our DBMS stands for.
Why is MySQL Called a Database?
Now, if I talk about MySQL, we understand that MySQL is a database. But why do we call MySQL a database? A database is a place where we can store a huge amount of data. But you might say, when we can already store a large amount of data in Excel, so what is the need of MySQL? So let me tell you that, in Excel we can store upto 10 lakh rows of data only, we can’t load more than 10 to 10.5 lakh rows of data, but if we talk about MySQL, we can store a huge amount of data like millions and billions of data. This is the reason why we use MySQL over other data analytics tools.
Now, where does this data come from? This data comes from us only. Whenever we are interacting with any website, mobile application, or different portals, in the background, those websites and applications are connected with databases. Whenever we buy something or make any transaction, that data is collected in a database. To control such databases, since the data is coming in real time, we also need to perform analysis in real time. To perform analysis in real time, we need to learn the types of the databases.
Types of MySQL Databases
So there are two types of databases, first one is SQL databases and the second one is NoSQL databases. SQL stands for Structured Query Language. It is a language of a database that allows us to interact with database. Just like if we want to interact with a computer, so we need programming language, similarly, to interact with a database, we need to know the language of databases.
So for example, one of the languages is structured query language (SQL). In SQL, there are multiple types of databases such as Microsoft SQL, PostgressSQL, and MySQL. Similarly, if we talk about NoSQL databases, so we have MongoDB, Cassandra, and many more.
In both kinds of databases, there are multiple types of servers. For example, MS SQL, PostgreSQL, and MySQL. In all of them, we use SQL language. Yes, a little bit of syntax and functions vary from MS SQL to PostgreSQL and PostgreSQL to MySQL, but they are majorly similar because they all use SQL, which stands for Structured Query Language.
So, if you learn how to write SQL in one of the databases, it becomes easy to write the same SQL in other databases as well. There will be only a minor 10 to 20% difference in between them.
Where MySQL is Used?
Before discussing how MySQL is used, let us first know where it can be used. So there is not only a single field where it can be used but multiple fields are there. For example, some of the most common fields are Data Science, Data Analytics, Computer Science etc. Let us understand this by taking any of the field, let’s take Data Analytics field.
Now some of you may not know about this field, so let me explain first what this Data Analytics means, so data analytics is a field which mostly deals with extracting meaningful information from the data for decision making and overall performance.
Basically data analytics helps us decide the better move or decision making based on past data to improve performance. For example, if you are running a company or doing a business, so by using data analytics, you can get to know about your weaknesses or strengths that where you are slowing down and where you need to work to improve performance. This field can by applied in any sector whether it’s a finance, healthcare, science or business.
How MySQL is Used for Data Analytics?
Now let us discuss how we use MySQL for doing data analytics. Let’s suppose you are asked, “How much sales have we got from morning to till now?” You might say, “I’ll load the data in Excel or another tool and then perform analysis.” But at the same time, you can write a small query in your database and retrieve that data instantly in real time. If you know how to write complex queries, you can perform in-database analytics efficiently.
To perform in-database analytics, you need to know several functions. We retrieve our data using the SELECT query, and along with it, there are many clauses, joins, window functions, and CTEs. Now this is just an introductory article about MySQL so we will not go in depth, we will explain it’s all concepts in our upcoming articles.
So this was all about MySQL for today’s article. This was just an introductory type of article where we have just explained it’s basics such as what exactly it is, it’s types and it’s importance. So I hope you must have understood each and every basics of MySQL.
However, we will bring more articles about MySQL in future to teach you each and everything. So I hope that, you must have understood MySQL through this article. If you still find any difficulty in any of the topic, you are feel free to ask those questions in the comment section. Thank you so much for reading this article till the end!
“So keep learning, keep growing!”
