What is MongoDB and how is it different from SQL databases?
What is MongoDB and how is it different from SQL databases?
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07-Apr-2025
Khushi Singh
20-Apr-2025As an open-source NoSQL database, MongoDB stores data through documents instead of inflexible SQL table structures, yet remains highly popular in its field. MongoDB stores its data through documents that exist within collections. Each MongoDB document incorporates fields through BSON documentation where JSON data receives binary expression support for field differences between records. Data models developed by developers can transform easily because MongoDB lacks data schema constraints.
Basic data management operations differ between MongoDB-based and SQL-based databases because of their contrasting data organization methods. SQL databases function using MySQL or PostgreSQL through structured schemas and display data by using rows and columns in their tables. The database requires that all rows in a table share the same structure and uses foreign keys together with join operation to establish relationships between tables. MongoDB's document structure supports embedded arrays and documents which helps storage of correlated information in one document to enhance both read operations and data extraction simplicity.
The query language of MongoDB operates through JSON-style syntax, yet SQL databases execute their operations through a machinery known as structured query language (SQL) that handles
SELECT,INSERT,UPDATE, andDELETEactions. Two important differences exist regarding scalability. MongoDB allows data partitioning through sharding to distribute its large datasets across multiple servers because it was designed for horizontal scaling. Traditionally, SQL databases scale through hardware updates while certain versions also enable scaling across servers although this method comes with added complexity.The SQL database implementation provides exceptional Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability (ACID) compliance for transaction management. Multi-document ACID transactions are now available in MongoDB but they were added to the system later.
The MongoDB framework suits modern use cases because it provides flexible performance combined with high-speed operations on both semi-structured and unstructured database loads. SQL databases continue to be the main selection for applications that need absolute data consistency in combination with complex relational query functionality.