Databases, like Cosmos DB Azure, are crucial for modern web application development.
A web application needs access to data to fulfil its functions, made possible by databases. So, it goes without saseying that selecting the right database is crucial for web application development.
Most databases are lected based on certain prerequisites like structure, scalability, size and speed. However, while databases can be a huge asset, selecting the right one is a challenging process because choosing the wrong one will prolong development time.
After all, different databases are built with different specifications in mind, which could act as a bottleneck for web application development. What developers need are more flexible and responsive databases that scale according to their needs.
Given the demands of web application development and the limitations of most databases, Cosmos DB Azure comes across as the ideal database for application development in most cases.
What are the advantages of using Cosmos DB Azure over databases?
To understand some of the benefits of Cosmos DB Azure, we need to take a look at what a multi-model database is. Conventional databases are built to store a specific data type. Databases are often divided into different categories, which determines the type of data they can hold. For example, highly structured databases are designed for quantitative data, while on the opposite end of the spectrum, unstructured databases include social media content, audio and video.
This can be quiet problematic for web application development because most data is heterogeneous.
This leads to several problems that are not conducive to efficient web application development. During a project, multiple databases need to be integrated, which means setting up a complicated workflow that makes it difficult to get the job done. Furthermore, developers need to work with multiple interfaces, making the entire workflow more complicated than it needs to be.
Multi-model databases, on the other hand, are designed to store different data types, making them far more conducive to the demands of a modern web applications developer. A multi-model database, like Cosmos DB Azure, provides a single backend that supports multiple data types, making it easier to work with heterogeneous datasets.
This provides several benefits to developers because it means more flexibility and fewer data silos in work, leading to more streamlined workflows and operational efficiency for developers. Furthermore, there is also data consistency to consider. With conventional databases, there is little to no consistency in data because different models store data using different formats.
However, with multi-model databases like Cosmos DB Azure, there is far more consistency in data, making it much easier to work with different data formats.
A multi-model database can benefit the web application development process by making it more timely and efficient than before. Businesses that use Cosmos DB Azure can develop more sophisticated web applications without any of the obstructions that plague other databases. Some of these benefits include greater flexibility and reliability.
A database with a multi-model architecture allows for flexible data modelling without having to deal with the headache of mapping multiple data types to a single database model, making development far more efficient.
Besides being more flexible, databases like Cosmos DB Azure, are far more reliable.
When working with multiple databases, any database can be a point of failure that disrupts productivity. But with a multi-model database, it is much easier to improve reliability because developers are only working with one database, reducing wasted hours trying to troubleshoot system failures.
These benefits help when working on web application development. However, there are also other benefits of Cosmos DB Azure that help the process.
Additional benefits to using Cosmos DB Azure
Multi-model databases, like Cosmos DB Azure, bring several benefits when it comes to web application development. Cosmos DB offers a lot of flexibility, allowing developers to scale up the number of requests per second. This capability allows the developer to easily deal with a surge in workloads. The database also makes it significantly easier to develop web applications, especially if they are globally distributed.
Cosmos DB comes with useful features like multi-master replication protocols, meant to offer five well-defined consistency choices, which allows for more intuitive programming without compromise to availability and latency.
This means developers don’t have to worry about making trade-offs between throughput, latency, consistency and availability, which makes for programming driven more by intuition and experience rather than technical constraints.
When building web applications, you need to account for database schema. However, when using Cosmos DB, you do not have to worry about index management, which is an extra step removed from the development process. Furthermore, you don’t have to worry about application downtime while migrating schemas. This is because the engine is schema-agnostic, which means all data is automatically indexed.
Getting the most out of Cosmos DB
Cosmos DB Azure is the ideal multi-model database because it can help in the development of high-end sophisticated applications without the drawbacks of more conventional databases. However, to make full use of the database, you also need to work with skilled developers who understand what the database is capable of and utilise its features in a way that can maximise productivity and increase operational efficiency.
Taking the power of Cosmos DB and harnessing its full potential is what the developers at Oscore do regularly and are more than happy to help you with your web application needs.