by Angela Guess
In a new installment of their data terms guide, ReadWriteWeb provides helpful definitions for terms like NoSQL, non-relational database, and CAP theorem. The article defines NoSQL as “shorthand for non-relational database. Some have suggested that ‘no’ should in this case stand for ‘not only.’ According to the Wikipedia, the first known use was by Carlo Strozzi, but he was using it to refer to a relational database that didn’t expose a SQL interface. He later said that the way the term is used now is more accurately ‘NoREL,’ not ‘NoSQL.’”
The article goes on to define the CAP theorem: “The CAP theorem states that a distributed computer system can’t guarantee all of the following: (1) Consistency, all nodes see the same data at the same time. (2) Availability, a guarantee that every request receives a response about whether it was successful or failed. (3) Partition tolerance, the system continues to operate despite arbitrary message loss. The CAP theorem was proposed by computer scientist Eric Brewer of University of California, Berkeley and later proved by Seth Gilbert and Nancy Lynch of MIT.”
Learn about more data terms here.
