FUELING YOUR APPLICATIONS: THE LATEST DATABASE DEVELOPMENTS

When someone thinks of software development, databases aren’t necessarily the first thought, but without a database, your applications aren’t going very far.

Databases serve as the foundation of modern applications, acting as the information powerhouse that stores and organizes incredible amounts of data in an intelligent and accessible way.

June and July saw some significant announcements about databases. Apache came out swinging with a whole “new” database system, MongoDB and Microsoft doubled down on their partnership, and Postgres released their new version 16 beta for public use.

Kvrocks: A Powerful Distributed Key-Value NoSQL Database with Redis Compatibility

The Apache Software Foundation (ASF) proudly announces the graduation of Kvrocks to a Top-Level Project.

Kvrocks is a distributed key-value NoSQL database that uses Meta’s RocksDB as its storage engine and is fully compatible with the Redis protocol. It has gained popularity for efficiently handling massive data scenarios and offering enhanced memory efficiency and increased capacity compared to Redis.

Highlighted features of Kvrocks include Redis compatibility, support for various data types and commands, and the convenience of namespaces with tokens. Its asynchronous replication, utilizing RocksDB’s Write-Ahead Logging (WAL), ensures data integrity, while Redis Sentinel support provides high availability and failover capabilities.

Since its open sourcing in 2019, Kvrocks has earned a significant industry following, with prominent companies like Baidu, Opera, and U-Next adopting it for production use.

Looking ahead, Apache plans to further enhance the Kvrocks user experience by introducing Kubernetes deployment support, a maintenance-friendly cluster controller, and additional data structures to cater to diverse user requirements.

What is a distributed key-value NoSQL Database?

In a normal SQL (Structured Query Language) database, everything is organized by tables with fixed structures, also called schemas.

“In Kvrock’s case, everything is stored in a less strict key-value format, sort of like a social security number identifies a person, a specific key identifies a given piece of data,” explains Jonathan Ghandforoush, Haneke Design’s Lead Backend Developer.

This system also allows for easier scaling; instead of adding columns to a table and scaling vertically, which typically requires more processing power to sift through data, a NoSQL database allows for horizontal scaling, keeping more data at or close to surface level allowing for more ease of access. Think making a bookcase wider rather than taller.

Microsoft and MongoDB Join Forces

On July 18th MongoDB(MDB) announced that they are expanding their partnership with Microsoft, a large part of which is making MDB’s Atlas database more accessible to Microsoft Azure customers.

Also in another great move, MDB has offered free Atlas credits to customers in the Microsoft for Startups program. Already having a very strong working relationship, this expansion will prove to be very beneficial to Microsoft customers, allowing them the opportunity to use MDB Atlas and its current Azure integrations. Additionally, both companies unveiled a new set of integrations at this year’s Microsoft Ignite, the most exciting of which has to be their announced AI and analytics integration.

Why is this important?

Microsoft and MDB are giants in the technology space. As it is they each give startups and developers a ton of tools to bring their ideas to life, but their collaboration also takes technology leaps and bounds forwards.

“With Microsoft’s work in AI and their Azure platform, and MDB Atlas’s near endless scalability, this is a partnership that will benefit the growth of countless companies and industries for years to come,” says Jonathan.

PostgreSQL Version 16 Open Beta: Impressive Upgrades and Community Collaboration

On June 29th, PostgreSQL announced the open beta for version 16, showcasing impressive changes since its last major release.

Postgres has a long history since its inception in the mid-1980s, evolving significantly over almost four decades. Initially a collaboration between DARPA and UC Berkeley, today PostgreSQL, or Postgres, stands as one of the most advanced open-source databases available.

The beta release of version 16 introduces a wide range of changes and upgrades. The notable highlights include increased functions and support for JSON, expanded data types, and numerous server improvements. See the full list of changes here.

One of the key strengths of Postgres lies in its extensive community of users, consistently contributing to the system’s enhancements. For this version, over 40 people were credited with updates or improvements, and many others likely played a role in its development.

Since its public release in 1996, Postgres remains one of the most popular choices for database management. Its versatility has made it a strong candidate for various projects, even being utilized here, at Haneke Design.

Final thoughts

Databases are the unsung heroes of development. Without a solid foundation, applications of all sizes wouldn’t be able to do the things they do. They don’t generate the same buzz that AI or Design do, but they’re incredibly important to all our processes.