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  1. Stackups
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  4. Databases
  5. RxDB vs SQLite

RxDB vs SQLite

OverviewDecisionsComparisonAlternatives

Overview

SQLite
SQLite
Stacks19.9K
Followers15.2K
Votes535
RxDB
RxDB
Stacks59
Followers179
Votes63
GitHub Stars22.8K
Forks1.1K

RxDB vs SQLite: What are the differences?

Introduction

In this comparison, we will analyze the key differences between RxDB and SQLite, two popular database technologies used for managing data in web applications. RxDB is a NoSQL database that runs entirely in the web browser, while SQLite is a relational database management system (RDBMS) that is usually run on a separate server. Now let's uncover the differences between these two technologies.

  1. Data Storage Model: RxDB follows a document-oriented data storage model, similar to other NoSQL databases like MongoDB. It stores data in collections, which are essentially JSON documents. On the other hand, SQLite follows a relational data storage model, where data is organized into tables with predefined columns and relationships between them.

  2. Concurrency and Scalability: RxDB is designed to handle a high level of concurrency within the same browser context since it operates directly in the web browser. It can handle multiple read and write operations simultaneously without the need for complex synchronization mechanisms. SQLite, on the other hand, operates on a separate server and follows a client-server architecture. It can handle high levels of concurrency by utilizing its locking mechanisms and transaction management. SQLite is also known for its scalability when deployed in a distributed environment.

  3. Supported Platforms: RxDB is specifically designed to run in a web browser. It can be used in web applications built using JavaScript or TypeScript. However, SQLite can be used in a wide range of platforms including desktop and mobile environments. It has extensive library support for various programming languages like C, C++, Java, Python, and more.

  4. Query Language: RxDB provides a flexible query API that allows the developer to perform complex queries on the NoSQL data model. It supports queries with a MongoDB-like syntax, making it easy to filter, sort, and aggregate data. On the other hand, SQLite uses SQL (Structured Query Language) as its query language. SQL provides a standardized way to interact with relational databases and perform various operations like selecting, updating, and joining data.

  5. Network Dependency: RxDB does not require network connectivity for basic database operations since it operates entirely in the web browser. By storing data locally, it can provide fast and reliable access even in offline scenarios. In contrast, SQLite generally requires a network connection to access the database server. It relies on client-server communication to perform operations on the database, which can introduce latency and dependency on network availability.

  6. Setup and Deployment: RxDB can be easily integrated into web applications by including its JavaScript library. It doesn't require a separate installation or setup process. SQLite, on the other hand, needs to be installed on a separate server to run. This involves setting up the server, configuring the database, and managing user access control. The deployment complexity of SQLite is higher compared to RxDB.

In Summary, RxDB is a document-oriented NoSQL database that runs in the web browser, providing fast local access and high concurrency. SQLite, on the other hand, is a relational database management system that operates on a separate server, supporting a wider range of platforms and providing more advanced query capabilities with SQL.

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Advice on SQLite, RxDB

Dimelo
Dimelo

Nov 5, 2020

Needs adviceonSQLiteSQLiteMySQLMySQLPostgreSQLPostgreSQL

I need to add a DBMS to my stack, but I don't know which. I'm tempted to learn SQLite since it would be useful to me with its focus on local access without concurrency. However, doing so feels like I would be defeating the purpose of trying to expand my skill set since it seems like most enterprise applications have the opposite requirements.

To be able to apply what I learn to more projects, what should I try to learn? MySQL? PostgreSQL? Something else? Is there a comfortable middle ground between high applicability and ease of use?

671k views671k
Comments
Stephen
Stephen

Senior DevOps Engineer at Vital Beats

Nov 9, 2020

Review

A question you might want to think about is "What kind of experience do I want to gain, by using a DBMS?". If your aim is to have experience with SQL and any related libraries and frameworks for your language of choice (python, I think?), then it kind of doesn't matter too much which you pick so much. As others have said, SQLite would offer you the ability to very easily get started, and would give you a reasonably standard (if a little basic) SQL dialect to work with.

If your aim is actually to have a bit of "operational" experience, in terms of things like what command line tools might be available as standard for the DBMS, understanding how the DBMS handles multiple databases, when to use multiple schemas vs multiple databases, some basic privilege management etc. Then I would recommend PostgreSQL. SQLite's simplicity actually avoids most of these experiences, which is not helpful to you if that is what you hope to learn. MySQL has a few "quirks" to how it manages things like multiple databases, which may lead you to making less good decisions if you tried to take your experience over to different DBMS, especially in bigger enterprise roles. PostgreSQL is kind of a happy middle ground here, with the ability to start PostgreSQL servers via docker or docker-compose making the actual day-to-day management pretty easy, while still giving you experience of the kinds of considerations I have listed above.

At Vital Beats we make use of PostgreSQL, largely because it offers us a happy balance between good management and backup of data, and good standard command line tools, which is essential for us where we are deploying our solutions within Kubernetes / docker, and so more graphical tools are not always appropriate for us. PostgreSQL is also pretty universally supported in terms of language libraries and frameworks, without having to make compromises on how we want to store and layout our data.

316k views316k
Comments
Jasmine
Jasmine

Feb 12, 2021

Decided

Backend:

  • Considering that our main app functionality involves data processing, we chose Python as the programming language because it offers many powerful math libraries for data-related tasks. We will use Flask for the server due to its good integration with Python. We will use a relational database because it has good performance and we are mostly dealing with CSV files that have a fixed structure. We originally chose SQLite, but after realizing the limitations of file-based databases, we decided to switch to PostgreSQL, which has better compatibility with our hosting service, Heroku.
175k views175k
Comments

Detailed Comparison

SQLite
SQLite
RxDB
RxDB

SQLite is an embedded SQL database engine. Unlike most other SQL databases, SQLite does not have a separate server process. SQLite reads and writes directly to ordinary disk files. A complete SQL database with multiple tables, indices, triggers, and views, is contained in a single disk file.

💻 📱 Reactive, serverless, client-side, offline-first database in javascript. Client-Side Database for Browsers, NodeJS, electron, cordova, react-native and every other javascript-runtime.

Statistics
GitHub Stars
-
GitHub Stars
22.8K
GitHub Forks
-
GitHub Forks
1.1K
Stacks
19.9K
Stacks
59
Followers
15.2K
Followers
179
Votes
535
Votes
63
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 163
    Lightweight
  • 135
    Portable
  • 122
    Simple
  • 81
    Sql
  • 29
    Preinstalled on iOS and Android
Cons
  • 2
    Not for multi-process of multithreaded apps
  • 1
    Needs different binaries for each platform
Pros
  • 15
    Good documentation
  • 13
    Subscription to queries
  • 11
    Example projects
  • 10
    Works
  • 10
    Typescript support
Cons
  • 4
    Bulk operation for updates and other operation
Integrations
No integrations available
Pouchdb
Pouchdb
CouchDB
CouchDB
Cloudant
Cloudant
React
React
Angular
Angular
Ionic
Ionic
Vue.js
Vue.js

What are some alternatives to SQLite, RxDB?

MongoDB

MongoDB

MongoDB stores data in JSON-like documents that can vary in structure, offering a dynamic, flexible schema. MongoDB was also designed for high availability and scalability, with built-in replication and auto-sharding.

MySQL

MySQL

The MySQL software delivers a very fast, multi-threaded, multi-user, and robust SQL (Structured Query Language) database server. MySQL Server is intended for mission-critical, heavy-load production systems as well as for embedding into mass-deployed software.

PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL is an advanced object-relational database management system that supports an extended subset of the SQL standard, including transactions, foreign keys, subqueries, triggers, user-defined types and functions.

Microsoft SQL Server

Microsoft SQL Server

Microsoft® SQL Server is a database management and analysis system for e-commerce, line-of-business, and data warehousing solutions.

Cassandra

Cassandra

Partitioning means that Cassandra can distribute your data across multiple machines in an application-transparent matter. Cassandra will automatically repartition as machines are added and removed from the cluster. Row store means that like relational databases, Cassandra organizes data by rows and columns. The Cassandra Query Language (CQL) is a close relative of SQL.

Memcached

Memcached

Memcached is an in-memory key-value store for small chunks of arbitrary data (strings, objects) from results of database calls, API calls, or page rendering.

MariaDB

MariaDB

Started by core members of the original MySQL team, MariaDB actively works with outside developers to deliver the most featureful, stable, and sanely licensed open SQL server in the industry. MariaDB is designed as a drop-in replacement of MySQL(R) with more features, new storage engines, fewer bugs, and better performance.

RethinkDB

RethinkDB

RethinkDB is built to store JSON documents, and scale to multiple machines with very little effort. It has a pleasant query language that supports really useful queries like table joins and group by, and is easy to setup and learn.

ArangoDB

ArangoDB

A distributed free and open-source database with a flexible data model for documents, graphs, and key-values. Build high performance applications using a convenient SQL-like query language or JavaScript extensions.

InfluxDB

InfluxDB

InfluxDB is a scalable datastore for metrics, events, and real-time analytics. It has a built-in HTTP API so you don't have to write any server side code to get up and running. InfluxDB is designed to be scalable, simple to install and manage, and fast to get data in and out.

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