Column based database

A column-based database (also known as a columnar or column store database) is a type of database management system in which data is stored and accessed in a column-based fashion, rather than in the traditional row-based format. Column-based databases are designed to store large amounts of data with minimal disk space and perform faster analytics than traditional row-based databases.

This makes them well suited for online analytical processing (OLAP) and data warehouse applications.

Column-based databases differ from row-based databases in that the table is logically divided into smaller data chunks called “columns,” rather than a single unit of data (called a “row”). This allows for better compression of data and more efficient storage on disk. It also makes analysis of data easier and faster as queries only need to address pertinent columns rather than entire rows of data.

One potential disadvantage to column-based databases is that they tend to require more complex query processing than row-based databases. Additionally, column-based databases can be difficult to manage as they typically consist of thousands or millions of columns.

Because of these advantages and disadvantages, column-based databases are often used in data warehousing applications, but are not always suitable for OLTP (transactional) processing.

Summary:

Column-based databases are a type of database management system in which data is stored and accessed in a column-based fashion, rather than in the traditional row-based format. They are designed to store large amounts of data with minimal disk space and perform faster analytics than traditional row-based databases, making them well suited for online analytical processing and data warehouse applications. However, column-based databases can be difficult to manage and may require more complex query processing than row-based databases. Because of this, they are best used for data warehousing applications, but not necessarily for OLTP processing.