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CouchDB Presentation

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Databases as the basis of software
CouchDB most important features
CouchDB as an alternative to relational databases
Advantages of Apache CouchDB
Why CouchDB is not a database for all audiences
Apache CouchDB application scopes
Install and activate CouchDB with just a few clicks
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CouchDB Presentation

Apache CouchDB has started. Time to relax? is the welcome message that users of the CouchDB database management system receive when they start it up. For system developers, relaxation and peace of mind in database management are a priority, as Couch stands out for its ease of use and understanding, even for users less experienced with database technology. The large number of intuitive elements and the easy handling make this open source software unique for applications where document databases must be joined with relational databases. In the following sections, you will learn how Apache CouchDB works, how and where it is used, and what benefits Couch offers businesses..

Index
  1. Databases as the basis of software
  2. CouchDB most important features
  3. CouchDB as an alternative to relational databases
  4. Advantages of Apache CouchDB
  5. Why CouchDB is not a database for all audiences
  6. Apache CouchDB application scopes
  7. Install and activate CouchDB with just a few clicks

Databases as the basis of software

Databases are the foundation on which companies work and that allow them to develop software. The data of customers, products, shipments and payments, as well as hundreds of similar records, backbone the system of a large part of the companies. The way you store your data depends fundamentally on the database model you use. The traditional relational database model sorts records, for example, based on common relationships. Non-relational models, also known as noSQL databases use other methods: one of the forms that non-relational databases take are, for example, databases that handle documents , such as the solution that we present here: Apache CouchDB .

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CouchDB can be used very easily on any server. If you need power and efficiency, Apache CouchDB can be installed, for example, in a cloud like https://www.ionos.es/cloud/servidores-cloud?ac=OM.WE.WEo50K361688T7073a - external-link-window " IONOS cloud servers "> IONOS cloud server..

CouchDB most important features

CouchDB is a database management system that takes advantage of the best of document databases to achieve the excellent performance of relational databases. Apache Software Foundation is the organization responsible for the development of Couch, which in 2005 began working on the Apache CouchDB free software and has been improving it ever since.

CouchDB is compatible with the main operating systems: Linux, Unix, macOS and Windows, and has been developed in the Erlang programming language . The standard programming language for accessing Couch records is JavaScript ..

CouchDB as an alternative to relational databases

The databases based on documents such as CouchDB keep records not in tables with rows and columns, but as separate documents closed . These documents can be compared, for example, with invoices:

An invoice is a separate document that gathers all the relevant information in a complete data record: issuer, invoice number, recipient, price, items sold, address of the invoice issuer and recipient. All of this is essential information of this unique registry. In a relational database all this information is distributed in different lines, while CouchDB allows to collect all this information in a document . Therefore, the data does not need to be pre-structured. The structure results from the document itself. Therefore, CouchDB can be considered a tableless database management system .

The document-centric approach simplifies the development process significantly. In addition, it allows records that are semantically similar (for example, with the same file formats), but syntactically different from each other (in terms of external and internal structure), to be collected together.

Advantages of Apache CouchDB

One of the advantages that CouchDB offers is the good synchronization of several databases , which is especially important for distributing data in a CouchDB cluster. In this way, the resulting data redundancies alleviate the entire system. Queries to the database can therefore get responses from different CouchDB instances. Large, geographically distributed database networks can be easily managed.

By synchronizing the database for different users in different locations, Apache CouchDB is opting for a gradual strategy , which offers a decisive advantage: the synchronization process is not interrupted in case of poor or interrupted network connections. When connection problems are over, the database picks up right where it left off before the signal interruption. The developers emphasize in this regard that the system does not ignore this possibility and assumes that these types of errors can occur in everyday life.

In addition, CouchDB uses the beginner-friendly JSON (short for JavaScript Object Notation) format for transmitting and storing its logs. This format is due to the tableless design that, unlike relational models, to date allows unstructured information to be stored .

Users can also rely on the ease of use of CouchDB, as it is based on popular web technologies such as REST, JSON, and JavaScript. Nothing prevents the introduction of large server clusters down to mobile devices.

Why CouchDB is not a database for all audiences

Apache CouchDB developers emphasize that they do not want and cannot replace relational databases , but rather position CouchDB alongside them and be able to offer users a simple alternative. Documentary databases are not recommended or sufficient for any type of company.

It should be clear that relational database systems are more practical and easier to use for those who want to regularly review their records in the form of spreadsheets or perform more complex queries . The reason for this is that the corresponding functions must be incorporated into CouchDB, which requires quite a high additional expense, in addition to the necessary knowledge.

Apache CouchDB application scopes

As already stated, CouchDB is a good alternative in the field of web application development and has many user-friendly features . In this context, the developers point out that other database systems often have to be adapted to the web, while CouchDB was developed precisely for the web . In practice, this database solution is used by many Facebook websites and applications. On the other hand, in the past it was used in Ubuntu, the most popular Linux product, to synchronize bookmarks and addresses . This is another example of the so-called? Real World Data ?.

Install and activate CouchDB with just a few clicks

CouchDB is compatible with all major operating systems and therefore developers offer download versions for any operating system on their website . Depending on the system, the procedure is different during installation. In Linux (Ubuntu) the necessary steps to follow are, for example, the following:

First, update the package manager of your Ubuntu installation and add the PPA repository:

  

  sudo apt update sudo apt install software-properties-common

Then update the package management again: 

  sudo apt update

Finally, install CouchDB with the following command in terminal: 

  sudo apt install couchdb
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Detailed installation instructions for various systems can be found in the Apache CouchDB online documentation.

After installation, restart Apache CouchDB and open Futon CouchDB web interface. From there you can start entering and updating records.

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