A DBMS is a group of interrelated data and a collection of programs to access that data. RDBMS is the variant of DBMS devised to remove the inefficiencies of DBMS. The common difference between DBMS and RDBMS is that DBMS just provide an environment where people could conveniently store and retrieve information with in the presence of redundant data. On the other hand, RDBMS uses normalization to eliminate the data redundancy.
DBMS follows a navigational model while RDBMS uses the relational model to store and retrieve the data.
Content: DBMS Vs RDBMS
Comparison Chart
| Basis for comparison | DBMS | RDBMS |
|---|---|---|
| Stands for | Database Management System | Relational Database Management System |
| Data storage | Data is stored in the navigational model. | Data is stored in the relational model (in tables). |
| Data redundancy | Exhibit | Does not present |
| Normalization | Not performed | RDBMS uses normalization to reduce or eliminate redundancy. |
| Modifiability | Modification in data is complex. | Modification in data is easy and simple. |
| Data access | Consumes more time. | Faster as compared to DBMS. |
| Schema-based constraints and data dependencies | Not employed | Employed in RDBMS. |
| Keys and indexes | Does not used. | To establish relationship keys and indexes are used in RDBMS. |
| Transaction management | Inefficient, error prone and insecure. | Efficient and secure. |
| Distributed Databases | Not supported | Supported by RDBMS. |
| Example | Dbase, Microsoft Access, LibreOffice Base, FoxPro. | SQL server, Oracle, mysql, MariaDB, SQLite. |
Definition of DBMS
DBMS (Database Management System) comprised of a group of interrelated data and a combination of programs to access, maintain and utilize a database. A database can be defined as an orderly collection of data associated in a significant way, which can be retrieved in different logical orders. In DBMS the files are inter-related.
DBMS is not application specific software; in fact, it is a general-purpose software. It emphasizes on storing and accessing data. It permits several users to input, edit, share, display and manipulate the data in the database.
DBMS was developed from its predecessor file-based system in which a set of application programs are aimed to carry out services for the end users. Each program defines and manages its own data means that for each database there is a separate application program.
The limitations of the file-based approach are:
- Data dependence where application program depends on the data.
- Same data is stored in more than one places (Data duplication).
- Incompatible file formats where the structure of a file relies on the application programming language.
- The data is isolated which makes data access difficult.
- Data recovery is harder.
- Difficult to ensure integrity and consistency.
- Several different programs have been written for each database, which consumes lots of space.
DBMS approach was developed to overcome the limitations of the file-based approach. It is single integrated software which offers set of primitives to define, access and manipulate the data from all the databases which eliminate data independence, therefore, it eliminates the need of writing different programs to handle each database. The whole data is stored in one place and is centrally managed which reduces the redundancy.
DBMS enforces integrity constraints so as to maintain database consistency. It also supports multiple views, in which different users are able to see different views. The only threat in DBMS is the data integrity, in which multiple users are attempting to modify the same data at the same time.
Definition of RDBMS
RDBMS expands to Relational Database Management System. It follows the relational model in which the data is stored in multiple tables and tables are related to each other using keys. According to Dr. E. F. Codd (inventor of relational model) every database which has tables and constraints need to be a relational database.
There are basically three constituent parts involved in the relational model – structural, integrity and manipulative parts. The Structural part defines the database in the form of relations (tables). Integrity part maintains the integrity of relational model with the help of primary and foreign keys. The manipulative part uses relational calculus and relational algebra to manipulate a relational database. To understand the relational algebra and relational calculus refer to the previously written article – Difference Between Relational Algebra and Relational Calculus.
Data normalization is used in RDBMS to avoid data redundancy in the tables. SQL (Structured Query Language) was introduced as a standard language to access RDBMS. The normalization technique helps the SQL query to access the data from the tables faster than DBMS. RDBMS is widely used database model where a complex and large amount of data can be easily stored and accessed.
Key Differences Between DBMS and RDBMS
- DBMS follows the navigational model while RDBMS follows a relational model where the data is stored in the form of tables, and there exists a relation between those tables.
- In DBMS same copies of data could be stored at multiple places but in RDBMS data redundancy is eliminated using normalization.
- As the multiple copies are stored at different locations in DBMS, it is difficult to modify the same file at the different locations. On the other hand, as there is negligible duplication of data in RDBMS, it is easy to commit changes in data.
- Data is accessed faster in case of RDBMS. In contrast, DBMS consumes more time in accessing the data.
- Only integrity constraints are employed in DBMS while RDBMS employs schema based constraints and data dependencies.
- Keys and indexes are not used in DBMS. On the contrary, in RDBMS these are used to establish a relationship between the tables.
- DBMS does not impose constraints on ACID properties. Conversely, RDBMS impose constraints in order hold ACID properties.
- Dbase, Microsoft Access, LibreOffice Base and ForPro are some of the examples of DBMS. In contrast, there are several widely used RDBMS such as SQL Server, Oracle, Mysql, SQLite, etc.
Conclusion
The DBMS and RDBMS are the database management system where RDBMS is the successor of DBMS. RDBMS is more efficient, fast, and popular and effectively eliminates the limitations of DBMS. DBMS does not enforce any constraints and security concerning manipulation whereas RDBMS defines integrity constraints with intend of holding ACID property.
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