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Data & Analytics · Foundational

Relational Database

A database that stores data in tables of rows and columns, linked through keys, and queried with SQL.

Definition

A relational database organizes data into relations (tables) where each row is a record and each column is an attribute with a defined data type. Relationships between tables are expressed through primary and foreign keys rather than physical pointers. Relational databases enforce a schema on write and typically support ACID transactions.

Example

An order system stores Customers and Orders in separate tables joined on CustomerID.

Exam tip

When a question stresses fixed schema, strong consistency and complex joins, the answer is usually a relational database rather than NoSQL.

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