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Dev MaxxingIntermediateDatabases75 sec
Relational database
A relational database stores data in structured tables with defined relationships between them, queried using a language like SQL.
What matters
Defining relationships between tables lets related data, like a customer and their orders, stay consistent and be queried together, rather than duplicated everywhere it's needed.
Example
A relational database might have separate 'customers' and 'orders' tables, linked so each order record references exactly one customer.
Common misconception
A relational database is not the only kind of database; other types exist for data that doesn't fit a strict table structure, but relational remains a common default.
Recall question
What does defining relationships between tables let a relational database avoid?
Keywords and related concepts
relational databaseSQLstructured datadatabase table