A database server is a server which uses a
database application that provides
database services to other computer programs or to
computer
A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...
s, as defined by the
client–server model.
Database management systems (DBMSs) frequently provide database-server functionality, and some database management systems (such as
MySQL) rely exclusively on the client–server model for database access (while others, like
SQLite, are meant for use as an
embedded database).
Users access a database server either through a "
front end" running on the user's computerwhich displays requested dataor through the "
back end", which runs on the server and handles tasks such as data analysis and storage.
In a
master-slave model, database master servers are central and primary locations of data while database slave servers are synchronized backups of the master acting as
proxies.
Most database applications respond to a
query language. Each database understands its query language and converts each submitted query to server-readable form and executes it to retrieve results.
Examples of proprietary database applications include
Oracle
An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination.
Description
The word '' ...
,
IBM Db2
Db2 is a family of data management products, including database servers, developed by IBM. It initially supported the relational model, but was extended to support object–relational features and non-relational structures like JSON a ...
,
Informix, and
Microsoft SQL Server. Examples of
free software database applications include
PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL (, ), also known as Postgres, is a free and open-source relational database management system (RDBMS) emphasizing extensibility and SQL compliance. It was originally named POSTGRES, referring to its origins as a successor to the In ...
; and under the
GNU General Public Licence include
Ingres
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( , ; 29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassicism, Neoclassical Painting, painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic ...
and
MySQL. Every server uses its own query logic and structure. The
SQL (Structured Query Language) query language is more or less the same on all
relational database
A relational database is a (most commonly digital) database based on the relational model of data, as proposed by E. F. Codd in 1970. A system used to maintain relational databases is a relational database management system (RDBMS). Many relatio ...
applications.
For clarification, a database server is simply a server that maintains services related to clients via database applications.
DB-Engines lists over 300 DBMSs in its ranking.
History
The foundations for modeling large sets of data were first introduced by
Charles Bachman in 1969.
Bachman introduced
Data Structure Diagrams (DSDs) as a means to graphically represent data. DSDs provided a means to represent the relationships between different data entities. In 1970,
Codd introduced the concept that users of a database should be ignorant of the "inner workings" of the database.
Codd proposed the "relational view" of data which later evolved into the
Relational Model
The relational model (RM) is an approach to managing data using a Structure (mathematical logic), structure and language consistent with first-order logic, first-order predicate logic, first described in 1969 by English computer scientist Edgar F. ...
which most databases use today. In 1971, the Database Task Report Group of
CODASYL (the driving force behind the development of the programming language
COBOL
COBOL (; an acronym for "common business-oriented language") is a compiled English-like computer programming language designed for business use. It is an imperative, procedural and, since 2002, object-oriented language. COBOL is primarily us ...
) first proposed a "data description language for describing a database, a data description language for describing that part of the data base known to a program, and a data manipulation language."
Most of the research and development of databases focused on the relational model during the 1970s.
In 1975 Bachman demonstrated how the relational model and the data structure set were similar and "congruent" ways of structuring data while working for
Honeywell.
The
Entity-relationship model was first proposed in its current form by
Peter Chen in 1976 while he was conducting research at
MIT.
The Entity-Relationship Model: Toward a Unified View of Data (1976)
/ref> This model became the most frequently used model to describe relational databases. Chen was able to propose a model that was superior to the navigational model and was more applicable to the "real world" than the relational model proposed by Codd.
See also
* Database replication
References
{{Database
Data management
Servers (computing)