Why MongoDB? It's the developers, stupid

[J65nko]

From http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/06/11/mongo_db/

Increasingly the third standard within enterprises for databases, MongoDB, has been claiming a lot of victories lately. In relative terms, it has become the second-hottest skill to have on one's resume, right after HTML5, according to Indeed.com job trend data. And despite plenty of hating on its technology, with one person telling me recently that "it sets database technology back 25 years," MongoDB continues to get deployed for numerous, large mission-critical applications.

[jggimi]

This excerpt is out of context, as a familiarity with the the product is required to understand it.

Worse, the linked article assumes the reader has familiarity with the emerging market of "NoSQL" databases and their purpose. The author did not even bother to define the first two standards referenced in the quote, here.

For context, it is important to know that "NoSQL" is a neologism that refers to "non-relational distributed databases." These are used for managing unstructured information which does not lend itself to effective management via relational databases and their table structures. As an example, consider much of the personal data stored by Google or Facebook which is mined for profit.

[Carpetsmoker]

Comparing relational databases and non-relational ("nosql") databases directly is like comparing a car with a boat. They both do more or less the same thing (move around), but they're designed for very different environments.

[ocicat]

Originally Posted by Carpetsmoker

...but they're designed for very different environments.

It would be more accurate to say that they are designed for very different expectations.

Relational database take data integrity issues very seriously -- even in environments with high volatility. The result is that consistency & replication needs can make big iron hardware a necessity. The NoSQL databases can relax the integrity requirements making lesser hardware a possibility.