SQL Databases and Other Client/Server Programs

Webserver, database server

Relational database system is the predominant approach for storing and querying through large amount of data. Data stored in such databases tend to have highly structured form. SQL is the primary language for accessing such databases and making structured queries. Various open-source programs such as MySQL, postgreSQL and commercial programs are available.

As a good bioinformatics example, gene annotation information is usually stored in relational databases. The database administator needs to create appropriate tables, and load data. Then the user performs queries, which either access single tables or a combination of tables.

Design of database system allows splitting of data and computation into multiple computers, and design those computers differently. Data machines are good for serving data quickly and computing machine is good for computation. They are connected over the network. The client-server model can run in the same machine as well.

SQL databases implement many concepts discussed in previous section into big package.

Client-server mode can be bulky, if one runs within a computer.

Embedded database Sqlite is small, light-weight C-library that implements the implements RDBMS following SQL standards. A programmer can get all power of SQL database by implementing SQL within his bioinformatics code. Source code is available in public domain. SQLite does not run in client-server mode.