Citus vs MongoDB: What are the differences?
# Introduction
In this Markdown code, we will be discussing the key differences between Citus and MongoDB, focusing on specific aspects of these databases.
# 1. **Architecture**:
Citus is an extension to Postgres, enabling horizontal scaling by adding a distributed layer on top of Postgres, while MongoDB is a NoSQL document database designed for high availability, scalability, and flexibility.
# 2. **Data Model**:
MongoDB uses a flexible schemaless document-based model, allowing developers to store and query data without a fixed schema, whereas Citus maintains the relational data model of Postgres, supporting structured data with tables and relationships.
# 3. **Scalability**:
Citus excels in scaling out by distributing data across multiple nodes in a cluster, providing horizontal scalability for relational data. MongoDB, on the other hand, scales horizontally by sharding data across multiple servers, ideal for managing unstructured data at scale.
# 4. **Query Language**:
Citus supports SQL queries due to its integration with Postgres, allowing users to utilize the power of SQL for data manipulation and querying. MongoDB, in contrast, uses its query language, which is based on JSON-like documents for data retrieval and modification.
# 5. **Transactions**:
Citus supports distributed transactions across multiple nodes while maintaining ACID compliance, ensuring data consistency and reliability in distributed environments. MongoDB offers atomic operations within a single document, lacking true multi-document ACID transaction support.
# 6. **Tooling and Ecosystem**:
Citus benefits from the rich ecosystem of Postgres, leveraging tools like pgAdmin and Postman for database management and development. MongoDB has its suite of tools, including MongoDB Compass and MongoDB Atlas, designed specifically for managing MongoDB databases and deployments.
In Summary, the key differences between Citus and MongoDB lie in their architecture, data model, scalability approach, query language, transaction support, and tooling ecosystem.
