RDBMS Benefits and Limitations

Benefits of Using an RDBMS

Structured Data: RDBMS allows data storage in a structured way, using rows and columns in tables. This makes it easy to manipulate the data using SQL (Structured Query Language), ensuring efficient and flexible usage.
ACID Properties: ACID stands for Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability. These properties ensure reliable and safe data manipulation in an RDBMS, making it suitable for mission-critical applications.
Normalization: RDBMS supports data normalization, a process that organizes data in a way that reduces data redundancy and improves data integrity.
Scalability: RDBMSs generally provide good scalability options, allowing for the addition of more storage or computational resources as the data and workload grow.
Data Integrity: RDBMS provides mechanisms like constraints, primary keys, and foreign keys to enforce data integrity and consistency, ensuring that the data is accurate and reliable.
Security: RDBMSs offer various security features such as user authentication, access control, and data encryption to protect sensitive data.

Complexity: Setting up and managing an RDBMS can be complex, especially for large applications. It requires technical knowledge and skills to manage, tune, and optimize the database.
Cost: RDBMSs can be expensive, both in terms of licensing fees and the computational and storage resources they require.
Fixed Schema: RDBMS follows a rigid schema for data organization, which means any changes to the schema can be time-consuming and complicated.
Handling of Unstructured Data: RDBMSs are not suitable for handling unstructured data like multimedia files, social media posts, and sensor data, as their relational structure is optimized for structured data.
Horizontal Scalability: RDBMSs are not as easily horizontally scalable as NoSQL databases. Scaling horizontally, which involves adding more machines to the system, can be challenging in terms of cost and complexity.