What Is a Database and Why Does Every App Need One?
Apps work by collecting, managing, and displaying pieces of information. From people’s names and contact info to images, social media posts, calendar events, marketplace listings, and more, apps rely on being able to store and retrieve information in a consistent and organized manner — and a database is what makes this possible.
But what exactly is a database? How is it structured? And why are they essential for any app? In this article, we’ll walk you through the basics of databases and help you understand their role in apps.
What is a database?
A database is a structured collection of digital information. It’s data that’s been organized so that it’s easily retrievable.
Think of it like a collection of clothes that are carefully sorted in drawers, rather than sitting in a random pile on the floor. The clothes are the individual pieces of information, and the database is the way they’re organized. And just as there are multiple ways you could sort your clothes, there are also different kinds of databases you might use in various applications.
Let’s zoom out for a second. If you’re building an app, you’ll need to account for three key components in your build:
- Design (what people see)
- Data (where and how you store information — this is all about your database)
- Logic (how things “work”)
Each of these elements need to be accounted for in order for your app to exist. In other words, a database isn’t just a structured collection of digital information: It's an essential part of software application development that requires user generated content or stored content from other sources.
If you’re building with no-code, you may have to find different solutions for some of these components, perhaps using one solution for design and another for database and logic. Not with Bubble. Our no-code platform is full-stack, which means we streamline design, logic based workflows and of course, handling your database schema with a familiar UI. Bubble’s all you need to bring your app to life.
Relational databases
The most common type of database, used in the majority of traditional apps, is known as a relational database. This is also called a structured query language (SQL) database. Relational databases store information in a series of tables with records and fields — similar to how spreadsheets store information with rows and columns, but with a few key differences.
The data in a spreadsheet is flat, meaning it’s stored in one-to-one relationships. Every piece of information relates to one other piece of information. This works well for many kinds of data, but struggles when the data becomes more complex than you see in software.
For example, let’s say we wanted to store information about a collection of books, including their titles and authors. A spreadsheet would rely on one-to-one relationships — a column for titles and a column for authors, with each title relating to one author. If, for example, you have one author that’s written several books, that’s considered a one-to-many relationship.
| Author | Title |
|---|---|
| Jenny Blake | Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One |
| Adam Grant | Think Again |
| Adam Grant | Originals |
| Kevin Roose | Futureproof: 9 Rules for Humans in the Age of Automation |
| Anna Wiener | Uncanny Valley |
A relational database solves this problem by allowing for one-to-many, many-to-one, and many-to-many relationships within the data. It does this by splitting the data into a series of different tables that are linked together by unique IDs.The key here is that you can reference one row to another. And with that reference, you create a link that allows for these more complex relationships
For example, the database could have a table of titles and a table of authors. Each title would then be linked to the unique IDs of its the author. And each author would likewise be linked to the unique IDs of other books they wrote. This means that no matter how many books a single author writes, or how many authors a single title might have, the data stays meaningfully connected.
Popular database management systems (DBMS) for relational databases include PostgreSQL, MySQL, and SQLite. Under the hood, Bubble uses PostgreSQL for its built-in database solution (read more about our database approach here!).
Non-relational databases
The less-common type of database is a non-relational or NoSQL database. Instead of storing data in predefined fields across linked tables, non-relational databases use a freeform approach, where records hold any relevant information.
So for our book collection example, a NoSQL database would have a record for every book, and those records would contain values for all the information about each book, including the title and any authors. And if you wanted to include some extra information for a few books, say the publisher, you could simply add that information without needing to restructure the records for all books.
Non-relational databases are less resource-intensive and more flexible in how they store data. But they’re also much more limited in how they can retrieve data.
For example, the relational database for our book collection would let us quickly query the database to pull up every title that an author contributed to, or even titles contributed to by a particular combination of authors. But a non-relational database would need to check each entry individually to find which author(s) contributed to a book.
Popular non-relational DBMS include MongoDB, Apache Cassandra, Neo4j, Redis, and Oracle NoSQL.
Why Bubble is ready for your every data need
Whether you want to build a native mobile app or a web app, you’re almost certainly going to need a database. Here are a few reasons why they’re so essential.
Enabling app functionality
Simply put, databases allow apps to function. Any time you open an app, most of the information you see on the screen is pulled from a database.
On the YouTube app, for example, metadata like the video titles, descriptions, comments, and more are all stored in and retrieved from a database. And whenever you like a video, subscribe to a channel, or post a comment, the database record is being modified and stored to accommodate the change is updated with new information.
And it isn’t limited to the information you see on the screen. Actions you take in the app frequently add to or pull data from the database even when there’s no immediate feedback. Just watching a video adds data to the database, like which parts you viewed, skipped, or stopped at.
All of that is information the database stores. And without a database, it simply wouldn’t work.
Providing security
It’s always important to keep security in mind when developing an app. This is especially true when handling particularly sensitive data (like a banking app), but even basic things like users’ login info need to be carefully protected in order to avoid the liability of a data breach.
Most database management systems are able to provide role-based permissions, meaning that even authorized users can only access the pieces of information they’ll specifically need. On Bubble, for example, you create rules and privacy settings yourself, meaning you have complete control over how your users access your app’s data.
Bubble’s security includes compliance with SOC 2 Type II and a GDPR-compliant data processing agreement (DPA).
Scaling with user demand
Apps must be able to handle a growing number of users and their data, no matter how many people sign up or how much information they provide. Databases are designed to efficiently manage large amounts of data, keeping up with user demand as apps grow from initial launch to widespread adoption.
They accomplish this by using features like indexing (organizing data for faster retrieval), caching (temporarily storing frequently accessed data for quick access), and transaction control (processing updates as all-or-nothing operations).
Bubble’s built-in database handles all of those technical elements for you. You don’t have to worry about database schemas, SQL syntax, or indexing. That gives you more time to focus on the logic and flow of your app, and Bubble’s powerful databases keep everything connected and secure in the background.
Build your database (and your whole app) on Bubble
Bubble’s no-code app development platform empowers anyone to bring their app idea to life — even if you have zero programming experience. From building the database to designing the user interface to structuring the backend logic, Bubble lets you do it all with no coding required.