What are the advantages and disadvantages of relational databases compared to other types of database management systems (DBMS)?

Advantages and Disadvantages of Relational Databases

Advantages:

• Data Integrity: Relational databases provide a high level of data integrity through constraints like primary keys and foreign keys.
• Flexibility: They allow for easy retrieval of complex queries and support ad-hoc queries without impacting performance.
• Scalability: Relational databases can scale vertically by adding more resources to a single server or horizontally by adding more servers.
• Normalization: Relational databases support normalization which reduces data redundancy and improves data consistency.
• Structured Query Language (SQL): Using SQL, relational databases offer a powerful and standardized way to interact with the database.

Disadvantages:

• Performance: Relational databases may face performance issues when dealing with very large datasets or complex queries.
• Scalability: Horizontal scalability can be complex to implement in relational databases compared to NoSQL databases.
• Data Model Flexibility: Relational schemas can be rigid, making it challenging to accommodate changes in data structures.
• Cost: Relational databases can be expensive to license and require skilled professionals for maintenance.
• Complexity: Building and maintaining complex relational database systems can be more complex compared to other types of DBMS.