Contact us anytime to know more - Kuldeep K., Founder & CEO CISIN
The right database is the most suitable database to help build a mobile application or update an existing app. The database of your mobile app determines whether or not it can handle regular updates and maintenance, as well as multiple users.
This blog will cover the top mobile app databases and the criteria for choosing the right database. This blog is designed to give you the information you need when choosing the best mobile app databases.
What is a Mobile App Database?
A mobile app database is an organized collection of information that has been structured according to the needs of the app. Database management systems (DBSM) are used to manage, edit, and update databases. The DBMS and stored information are all linked together to form a database.
Data is stored in the database as columns and rows, which makes data processing and management fast and simple.
What Is The Need For Mobile App Databases?
Databases are used for a wide range of purposes. A database's main purpose is to store large amounts of data. Learn about some other uses.
Data Security
Mobile app databases provide ultimate protection against hacking and theft. DBMS comes with multiple user logins, and each time, new users require permission to access the database.
Pointing Out Errors
App databases are highly reliable as DBMS has a system of checking that identifies errors and alerts the user to them.
Fast & Easy Search
Data Query Language allows developers to quickly search mobile app databases.
Updates that are Hassle-free
DBMS includes Data Manipulation Languages that enable quick and smooth modifications to the app database.
Types Of Mobile Apps Databases
It may surprise you to learn that there are different types of mobile app databases. Find out.
Distributed Database
Distributed databases are those where data is stored in different physical locations. The data can be stored on multiple computers in the same physical location or spread over a network.
Centralized Database
A centralized database is a database that stores data in the "center". The "center" indicates that the database is stored in one place, but it can be accessed by any external resource.
If you keep all your data in a central database on your PC at work, you can easily access it from your PC at home.
Cloud Database
Cloud-based databases perform in the cloud. These apps are great innovations as they offer a lot of storage space. Cloud technology is a database that can be accessed from anywhere. It's always accessible and available.
NoSQL Database
NoSQL is the only database type that differs from other databases used for application development. NoSQL is a database that allows developers to store data in different shapes and sizes.
Commercial Database
Organizations that use enterprise-based databases need a large database to store employee data. Here arrive commercial app databases. They provide ample storage and login controls to ensure data safety.
End User Database
The end-user database is created when we enter personal information on social media pages or shopping sites. If you've seen the cookies we accept when browsing websites, these databases also store cookies to personalize your experience online. The entire process is done in the background and does not disturb any information about users.
Relational Database
Growing companies always create relationships between app databases. It is called relational data. A relational database makes it easier to handle this type of data. This app database stores data in rows and columns, which makes it easy to create relationships between databases.
Which Are The Best Databases For Mobile Apps?
Check out the top databases used to develop Android and iPhone apps. You can select the right database for your app based on its needs.
ArangoDB
ArangoDB is a native, open-source, multi-model database that supports three data types with a unified Query Language, AQL. It also has ONE database core.
Written in: C++, JavaScript
CouchDB
Apache CouchDB is an open-source database that uses document-oriented formats to store and process data.
Written in: C, JavaScript, C++,
Firebase
Firebase is a database that can be used to build and manage successful apps. Google supports it, and app developers, from startups to large enterprises, prefer it. It's also a cross-platform, minimally setup API. It can be accessed as a database in real time from a mobile device.
RethinkDB
RethinkDB is a free and open-source distributed document-oriented database that stores JSON files with dynamic schemas. It's best used to push real-time results for queries to apps.
Written in: Java, Python, JavaScript, C++
SQLite
SQLite, a lighter version of MySQL, is a database embedded in apps that allows developers to give mobile users local data storage.
Written in: C
Realm
Realm, an open-source database that is developer friendly and an alternative to SQLite or CoreData, is a good choice for developers. It is easy to install, can be ported in hours and will save you weeks of work.
Written using: Swift Objective-C Java Kotlin C# JavaScript.
MariaDB
MariaDB is a commercially supported fork from the MySQL relational DBMS. It's intended to remain open-source software.
Written in: C, C++, Perl
MongoDB
MongoDB is a database that uses JSON documents and has a cross-platform, database-oriented approach.
Written in: JavaScript, Python, Java, PHP, C, C++, Ruby, Perl
Amazon DynamoDB
Amazon DynamoDB is a proprietary NoSQL database that can be fully managed. It supports key-value and document data structures. It allows you to build modern apps with high performance at any scale.
PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL, a unique relational database, is the best for Android and iOS applications. This database can be customized by developers to their liking, which is why it is the most popular mobile app database.
Written in: C
Couchbase
Couchbase is a distributed NoSQL database that delivers outstanding versatility, scalability and financial value. It can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud.
Written in: C++, Erlang, C, Go, Java
RocksDB
Riak DB is a distributed NoSQL Key-Value Data Store that provides high availability and fault tolerance.
Written in: Erlang
InfluxDB
InfluxDB is an open-source database for time series that stores and retrieves data in fields.
Written in: Go
Cassandra
Apache Cassandra, a NoSQL DBMS, is an open-source, free, wide-column, distributed store that manages vast amounts of data on various commodity servers.
Written in: Java
Memcached
Memcached, a general-purpose distributed cache system that caches data and objects within RAM, is the best choice for websites with dynamic databases.
Written in: C
Redis
Redis, an in-memory store of data structures, is used for key-value databases, message brokers, in-memory caches, and distributed caching.
Written in: C
MySQL
MySQL, an open-source relational DBMS, is a fully-managed database service that can be used to deploy cloud native apps.
Written in: C, C++
SAP Adaptive Server
SAP Adaptive Server, also known as Sybase SQL Server or a relational database model, offers high availability and performance for processing targeted transactions. The relational database server lowers the cost of developing apps. It can be deployed on both infrastructures as a service (IaaS) and on-premises.
Written in: C, C++
Solr
Solr, a popular and open-source platform that is blazingly fast, was developed using Apache Lucene. Solr is highly scalable and reliable. It offers distributed indexing, automated failure over and recovery, as well as replication and load-balanced queries.
Written in: Java
IBM Db2
The IBM Cloud Pak for Data is available anywhere and powered by AI. The IBM Cloud Pak for the Data makes it available from anywhere. It is a proven enterprise-ready, AI-infused data management system that combines AI with an integrated data platform built on the scalable and security-rich Red Hat OpenShift Foundation.
Written in: C, C++, assembly, Java
FileMaker
It is the top platform for workplace innovation in the world. It allows you to customize apps and automate workflows. Low code allows you to create custom apps that streamline manual processes and increase efficiencies.
HBase
Apache HBase is a non-relational, distributed, open-source database that allows for real-time random Access to Big Data. It is a distributed, open-source database that's versioned.
Written in: Java
SAP HANA
SAP HANA is a column-oriented in-memory relational DBMS that performs as if it were a database server, storing and retrieving data when the applications request.
Written in: C, C++
Oracle
Oracle is a multi-model DBMS that excels at online transaction processing, mixed workloads and data warehousing.
Written: Assembly Language, C, C++
Splunk
Splunk is committed to securely storing data and adheres to industry-wide and global compliance initiatives. Indexing is a database technology that's required to search for and deal with log files.
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Jet Database Engine, a DBMS that combines the relational Microsoft Jet Database Engine and a GUI with software development tools, is a Microsoft venture.
Elasticsearch
Elasticsearch, a free, open, and distributed search and analytics tool, is built on Apache Lucene. Elasticsearch is a key component of the Elastic Stack - a collection of free and open tools for data enrichment, ingestion, analysis and storage.
Written in: Java
Teradata
Teradata is a database provider that offers software and services related to databases and analytics. It is best for enterprise data analytics, and it's a multi-cloud platform that connects everything.
Read More: How to Pick the Right Database for Your Next Mobile App
Microsoft Azure SQL
It is a managed cloud platform that runs a database. It's a platform as a service (PaaS) database engine that is fully managed. This engine manages database management functions like patching and upgrading, monitoring and backups without user involvement.
Hive
Apache Hive is a data warehouse project that offers a SQL-like interface for querying data in Hadoop-integrated databases and file systems. The software is designed to process petabytes quickly by using batch processing. It is also easy to scale up and distribute according to your needs.
Written in: Java
Microsoft SQL Server
It is a relational database consulting management system that Microsoft has developed. Microsoft SQL Server, a relational DBMS, is a product used to store data and retrieve it as required by software applications. It is the best for managing information.
Written in: C, C++
OrientDB
OrientDB, an open-source NoSQL DBMS, is a database that supports document, graph and value/key models. It combines graphs' strength and documents' flexibility into a high-performance and scalable database.
Written in: Java
Neo4j
Neo4j is a graph DBMS that offers data scientists and developers a set of trusted and advanced tools for developing intelligent apps and ML workflows. The service is available as a fully-managed cloud service that can be self-hosted.
Written in: Java
ORMLite
ORMLite is a lightweight ORM library that can be used in Java applications. It offers all the standard features and functionality of an ORM tool but without any of the complexity or overhead associated with ORM frameworks.
Written in: Java
Firebird SQL
Firebirdsql is an open-source SQL relational DBMS that runs on Microsoft Windows and Linux. It also runs on macOS and many Unix systems.
Written in: C++
Berkeley DB
Berkeley DB is a software library that offers a high-performance embedded database for key/value data. It also provides a simple API that allows data access and management.
Written in: C
What Are The Criteria For Choosing The Best Database For Mobile Applications?
There are many criteria to consider when choosing a database for your mobile app.
Continue reading!
Structure Your Data
Structures define how you will store and retrieve data. Data is stored in different formats by mobile apps.
Online applications require server access in order to store data.
Size Your Data
The data size is how much data you wish to store or retrieve for your app. The amount of data can vary depending on the data structure and database used to distinguish data between different file systems, servers, etc.
You should choose a mobile database based on the total volume of data generated at any given time by the app and the size of the data you wish to retrieve.
Data Modelling
You should perform data modeling, as recommended by experts, before selecting a database for your mobile app. This is a robust representation of business requirements and a representation of the data structures you wish to store in your database.
Apps that include features such as search, reporting, location-based functions, etc., are ideal for data modeling. These mobile apps require different databases to handle different types of data.
For instance, Uber uses various databases, like MongoDB, MySQL, etc. These databases allow it to store a large amount of data.
Speed and Scale
We can tell you the speed of your application by calculating how many reads and writes it receives. Some databases are better suited to read-heavy apps, while others support software solutions that require more write-heavy functionality.
A scalable architecture is achieved by selecting a database that can handle the I/O needs of an application.
MongoDB, for example, may be faster at handling unstructured data than MySQL, but MySQL is faster with structured data.
Data Security
It is essential that data be transmitted, accessed and stored securely when using decentralized or synchronized storage. You would need to address authentication, data on the move, data at rest and read/write accessibility.
Authentication must be flexible, allowing the use of standard authentication providers, public authentication providers, and customized authentication providers. You need to support data-level and file system encryption for data that is at rest, both on the client and server. Data in transit must be transmitted over a secure channel, like TLS or SSL.
Mobile App Platforms Choice
You should start thinking about platforms now if you plan to create apps for more than one platform and will decide later.
Today, many mobile apps can be used to create a desktop native app or web application. You should also consider this option.
React Native is a framework that allows you to create mobile apps for both Android and iOS. The developers can work on both platforms at the same time. It supports all kinds of databases.
Selection Criteria Based on Use Cases
Let's now check the criteria for selecting the best use case:
Mobile Applications with Various Data Layers
It is difficult to manage data in many apps with a multi-layer model, as "fields" and "tables" are dependent on each other. As apps evolve, they may require a change in database structure.
You will not be able to make frequent changes if you use a structured database like PostgreSQL. You can easily modify an unstructured database like MongoDB.
Data Synchronization between Backend Server and Local Database
Some apps allow you to use them offline, but they require an internet connection to upload the local data. Dropbox, for example, allows you to edit and create new files in offline mode. When you return to the internet, your changes are synced with the cloud.
Choose an app database like Couchbase that allows automatic sync of local databases to cloud servers and vice versa.
Highly Scalable Mobile Apps
When scaling up your app, think about adding more servers to the database. Multithreading is required for the database to have the capability to manage parallel processing and use resources.
Multithreading allows a database to schedule parallel jobs using the available resources, reducing the workload of the server.
You should also use a distributed database to distribute the workload on different threads. This will reduce the load on the main database. This results in improved parallel processing for databases.
Resolve Data Conflicts Between Devices
Conflicts can arise if a mobile app changes the same data simultaneously on multiple devices. Databases should support conflict resolution mechanisms. It is essential to allow resolution in the cloud or on the device by a person, an external system, or automatically.
Users with Low Network Issues
If the SQL database's network connection disconnects from client-side storage during the transfer of data, an error message will appear. If it occurs frequently, the database may need to be re-configured. In this case, it is best to choose a database with better reliability that doesn't frequently lose connection.
New Apps and Database Updates
The local database will need to be updated if we wish to update our app. Developers should therefore stay up to date with the latest database versions. The database that you choose should allow for the addition of tables and fields and support old APIs and database structures. This is especially important for users with the latest version of the app.
What Are The Best Practices For Working With Mobile App Databases?
Check out these best practices for working with mobile app databases.
Consider databases that follow the Multiversion Concurrency Control Method (MVCC)
This method allows simultaneous Access without interfering with processes or threads. MVCC allows a reader and writer to work simultaneously, allowing the reader to verify data snapshots before making changes.
Predictive Caching
You can improve your mobile app performance by analyzing when, where, and how users use it. You can segment users based on their behavior traits and provide them with the information they want.
You can cache data and make it available locally before users log into your app idea. MongoDB offers predictive caching, which allows developers to provide users with data that is predictively cached before they request it.
Database Caching To Reduce the Load
To reduce the load on servers, we should add a layer of caching. We should also cache data in this layer of caching to prevent a repeated request for the data. The server will be more efficient as the number of requests is reduced.
For example, mobile apps like Amazon receive various recurring requests. The caching layer can reduce the server load. It is capable of handling millions of requests at the lowest possible latency. For such requirements, you can also use Memcached or Redic.
Low Latency Challenges
Low latency is essential for online gaming and real-time apps. App users get a bad impression from high latency. High latency is anything that goes below 500ms.
You can use any method to reduce replication and latency. You can also choose databases that have a lower average latency.
- PostgreSQL for real-time transactional operations.
- Pipeline DB - SQL database best for streaming apps.
- RethinkDB- Best for Real-Time Apps.
- MongoDB
What Are The Benefits And Utility Of Mobile App Databases?
Do you want to have a new perspective on the best software for databases? We all believe that databases are only needed for desktop and website applications, as they must handle large datasets. This is not true, as mobile apps are also crucial in handling real-time information about customers.
In recent years, mobile app usage has exploded. Suppose you don't include a mobile app database in your system. In that case, you may have to deal with data theft, duplicate records, or poor performance. We have listed a few benefits that you can get from the database while keeping in mind the possible consequences.
Improves data Storage Facilities
The collection and storage of various types of data is a major reason for using a mobile database. Microsoft Access is a good option for many startups, but it's not the best. DataData stored by Access is prone to corruption.
A database is the most effective way to create mobile applications. This is a platform that allows you to store all kinds of data without worrying about their integrity or safety.
Acts as a Future Reference
Professionals need to use different datasets to introduce changes to mobile applications. If data is not properly stored, your app will likely fail to meet the needs of customers. It's because developers and analysts will have no reference in the future.
If you store all of these datasets in the database platform, then anyone with Access will be able to retrieve details, analyze patterns and trends, as well as provide input for decision-making.
Protecting Your Assets from Cybercrime
Cybercrime is on the rise. You may fall victim to them at some point. You must therefore take every precaution to safeguard the data and avoid any corruption or theft. A database system is a great way to protect all data sets.
The software not only stores the data with complex algorithms but also prevents Access by unauthorized users. Most databases have a built-in protection system. You can easily add one or two additional security layers.To further secure the system. Data integrity and standards are maintained.
By data integrity and standards, we mean the accuracy and relevance of collected datasets. Your data will be affected if you select the wrong DB or delay integrating third-party software. There will be redundancies and duplicate records, and the relationship between different datasets may be blurred.
You must therefore use an open-source database. This software will protect all of your collected data from corruption, inaccuracy and duplication.
Conclusion
It is important to make the right choice when choosing a database, as it can determine whether your app will succeed or fail. Check if your mobile app database meets the above criteria. This post should provide you with the information you need to find a mobile app database that is flexible. Hire the best mobile app development company with skilled iOS and Android developers to turn your ideas into reality.
