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Database vs. relational database

EXPERT RESPONSE FROM: Brian Peasland

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QUESTION POSED ON: 27 October 2006
What are the differences between a database and a relational database?

EXPERT RESPONSE
In simplest terms, a "database" is a collection of records. There are many types of database models. Databases can be as simple as flat files. Databases can follow the hierarchical model, the relational model, the object-oriented model or the XML model. In the hierarchical model, the records are organized in a defined hierarchy. In the object-oriented model, records are stored as objects which have defined methods for access. The XML model stores the records in XML format. The relational model stores records according to how they relate to each other. For more information on the relational model, please see this Wikipedia article.

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