A relational database management system is one of four common types of systems you can use to manage your business data. The other three include:
- hierarchical database systems
- network database systems
- object-oriented database systems
Hierarchical database model resembles a tree structure, similar to a folder architecture in your computer system. The relationships between records are pre-defined in a one to one manner, between ‘parent and child’ nodes. They require the user to pass a hierarchy in order to access needed data. Due to limitations, such databases may be confined to specific uses. Discover more about [hierarchical databases]
Network database models also have a hierarchical structure. However, instead of using a single-parent tree hierarchy, this model supports many to many relationships, as child tables can have more than one parent. See more on [network databases]
Finally, in object-oriented databases, the information is represented as objects, with different types of relationships possible between two or more objects. Such databases use an object-oriented programming language for development. Find out more about [object-oriented databases]