Oracle 12c And MongoDB Compared: A Complete Guide To Choosing The Right Database

Business organizations and social media platforms create a huge volume of data every minute to analyze the market condition and explore new opportunities. Business organizations store their data related to business, customers, employees, and other data in a database and analyze it to improve business operations.

The data will be in both structured and unstructured formats. Earlier, Relational database systems were used to store, analyze, and retrieve the data from the data. Nowadays, many forms of database systems are available, making it easier for organizations to get an accurate report of what they want. This research paper explains the relational database system of Oracle and the Non-relational database or NoSQL database system of MongoDB.

1. Introduction

Business competition is increasing with the evolution of technology and the internet. A vast amount of data is generated in both structured and instructed formats. Organizations use these data to develop reports and make business decisions to achieve competitive advantages. Previously, relational database management systems stored only structured data. The data gives only some insights into business and the market. Unstructured data needs processing to know hidden business opportunities.

Oracle Corporation is the first company to develop a relational database system. Software engineers and IT companies use this relational database system (RDBMS) to increase efficiency in their software. Oracle Corporation was the only company to sell software in the 1970s. Relational database systems have limitations that prevent organizations from obtaining complete information.

Later, NoSQL database systems came into existence. The  NoSQL database is free from predefined schemas and dynamic. It does not disturb other data when processing data. NoSQL databases will have high demand in the future of the digital world to explore new possibilities and achieve competitive advantages in the market. Large companies like Amazon, Google, and Facebook use NoSQL databases to store and process their data.

Today, MongoDB is the most used software to address issues in relational database management systems. Today, business markets and production processes are changing, and companies are striving to compete with their competitors to achieve competitive advantages.

The competitive advantage is achieved when the organization knows about customer perspectives, competitors’ strategies, and user expectations. This hidden information is given by the database that contains data. The complexity of the data depends on its velocity, veracity, and volume.  This data requires processing to understand the market condition, which is possible using either an Oracle database system or MongoDB. 

2. Oracle Database

Oracle database is one of the oldest and most reliable object-relational database management systems that process data using SQL (structured query language). Oracle database system was developed by three friends, namely Larry Ellison, Bob Miner, and Ed Oates, in Software Development Laboratories Company using C and C++ programming languages. It can run on any operating system, such as Windows, UNIX, or Linux.  

It is used mainly in online transaction processing, data warehouse, and database workload applications. It is one of the most used database management systems in the market. There are various versions of the Oracle database that focus on different aspects, such as Oracle 12c is used in cloud operations. It is an enterprise edition in which different database tables are created and linked to each other through foreign keys and joins.

Any change in a single database required a change in the whole database, which reduced the performance and speed level of the database. Oracle also has a NoSQL database that uses Java edition. It uses a Java-based key value to store and replicate data in the database. However, it uses binary and JSON objects similar to MongoDB. Oracle NoSQL supports open-source platforms like Hadoop.

Oracle 12C

Oracle 12c is one of the versions of the Oracle database that is used in the cloud storage and retrieval process. Oracle 12c uses multitenant architecture to manage multiple databases in the cloud easily. It provides high-performance capacity, scalability, in-memory data processing, availability, and efficiency. It was specially designed for cloud storage to reduce the IT costs of enterprises. Some of the features of Oracle 12c are

Features Of Oracle 12c

• The databases in the cloud are consolidated or grouped to reduce the cost of hardware and software applications. The database is offered as a service to the cloud users using database multitenant, 
• .
• The data storage will be optimized using in-memory operations.
• The storage will be optimized using either an automated process or compressing the data according to the use.
• The data in the Oracle database will be available at the time of need to the enterprises.
• The enterprise manager cloud control is used to ensure the security of the data and ensure efficiency in the business operations.

Multitenant Architecture

The multitenant architecture of Oracle 12c supports storing multiple databases in a single database, and the databases are termed super databases (Container databases) and sub-databases. This multitenant architecture provides a consolidation feature in the cloud where no other database is disturbed when there is a change in another database. It uses advanced encryption techniques to secure the data over the cloud. With this, the database lifecycle is managed easily by the database manager.

Memory management

• Architecture: when an instance is allocated in the cloud, memory is allocated to the database. The memory contains the program, information about the session, the status of the SQL query that is required during the execution of the program, information on lock data that is used during the concurrent process, and cached data on the disk.
• Structures: the structure of memory includes the following structure.
• System Global Area (SGA):  shared memory structure contains information about the data and memory of instances, which are used in the background operations.
• Program Global Area (PGA): It is a non-shared memory present in every Oracle database that contains information about data and its controls. The Oracle database will create PGA for every process, which has limited scope according to the operations done in the process.
• Software Area Code (SAC): this memory is used to code a program. The location of this memory will be protected from threats and attacks.
• User Global Area (UGA): it is the allocated memory to each user in its session.

MongoDB

MongoDB Inc. is an American-based company. MongoDB is a non-relational database system where data is stored in the form of documents. The SQL language is not required to retrieve the data from the database. The data is stored in binary form, and its related data is linked to it to retrieve quickly using (MQL) MongoDB query language.

The documents will not be affected when a new document is added to MongoDB. The schema validation feature helps to ensure the meeting of government compliance. MongoDB came into existence in February 2009. A single server of MongoDB manages multiple databases. MongoDB uses ad-hoc query language to store documents and collections. It was developed using C, C++, and JavaScript programming languages.

MongoDB will run on any operating system like Windows, Linux, UNIX, MAC, and others. MongoDB is a NoSQL database system that is mostly preferred by companies because traditional database systems do not provide scalability and agility in software applications. The traditional relational database systems require high processing power and expensive storage space. NoSQL database improves the performance of the application, and schemas are built into it. The MongoDB data management supports auto-sharing, pluggable storage, and storage efficiency using compression.

Features of MongoDB

• Performance: It increases the performance of the database, as the data and its related data are stored in a single document, thereby eliminating the joins between different databases.
• Availability: MongoDB provides high availability of data with its replication facility. It also ensures data redundancy.
• Scalability: Scalability is increased by using multiple MongoDB servers that reduce the database’s workload.

MongoDB Data Model

• Documents: The data in MongoDB are stored in the form of documents as BSON data objects. The BSON data objects are represented in binary format. The documents are stored in the collections. Collections are similar to tables in the Oracle database. The entire data is stored in single documents to increase the performance.
• Dynamic Schema: The documents in MongoDB will be different from each other. Each document has a unique ID that is given by the user at the time of the creation of the document.

MongoDB Query Model

• Drivers: MongoDB can be queried using JSON objects, which are sent to the documents using Drivers like PHP, .NET, Java, Ruby, and other programming languages.
• Indexing: Various indexes are supported by MongoDB, such as unique indexes, compounds, arrays, Time live index, geospatial index, and others
• Mongo shell: Mongo Shell is used to store and retrieve data objects in MongoDB.
• Query types: MongoDB supports many query typos to ensure flexibility in performance, such as key-value queries, geospatial queries, range queries, aggregation, and so on.

Difference In Syntaxes Of Oracle And MongoDB

Structured Query Language is used by Oracle RDBMS to manipulate data in the databases. For example, it uses SELECT, DELETE, INSERT, and UPDATE queries. It uses different procedures to manipulate data. The PL/SQL is used for advanced queries. 

MongoDB uses functions to manipulate data in the documents during operations like addition, deletion, and updations. For advanced queries, MongoDB uses Callback functions. JavaScript language is used in the case of Mongo shell. These are the basic queries and functions used to manipulate data in the databases. Different functions can be applied based on the results obtained from previous queries.

To create a table in the Oracle database, CREATE syntax is used as

CREATE TABLE users( UID INT, Uname VARCHAR(20), and Uage INT);

MongoDB creates collections only after the first insert in the table because there is no limit on the structure. When there are no other tables present in the database, then Oracle will drop it using the DROP statement.

DROP TABLE user;

In MongoDB, tables are not dependent on each other, so Dropping becomes easy.

Db.user.drop();

The major difference between the Oracle database and the MongoDB is that during insertion, deletion, and other queries, oracle imposes many constraints, whereas MongoDB does not have any constraints and is flexible to use.

INSERTION

Oracle( statement): INSERT INTO user( UID, Uname, and Uage) VALUES(123, XYX, 25);

MongoDB(function): Db.user.insert({UID:123, Uname: XYX, Uage: 45});

SELECTION

Oracle( statement): SELECT * FROM user;

MongoDB(function): Db.user.find();

DELETION

Oracle( statement): DELETE FROM user;

MongoDB(function): Db.user.remove();

Comparison Between Oracle 12c And MongoDB

Features	Oracle12c	MongoDB
Uses DBMS	Relational Database Management System	Non-Relational Database or NoSQL database
Query Langauge	SQL	MQL(MongoDB query language)
Built Using	Single or Monolithic Node Design	Distributed SystemArchitecture
Developed Using	C and C++ Programming Langauges	C, C++, and JavaScript programming languages
Server-Side Scripting Language	PL/SQL and Java	JavaScript
Operating System	Windows versions, UNIX, Linux, and others	Windows, Linux, UNIX, MAC, Solaris, FreeBSD, and other major operating systems
Database Size	Predefined	Dynamic
Store Data	Structured data	Unstructured data
Data Format	Tables	Documents and Collections
Secondary Database Model	Graph DBMS to store graphical data	Key-Value Store
Partitioning Method	Horizontal	Shredding
Purpose Type	Commercial	Open-source and available free to users
Scalability	Vertical	Horizontal
Theory	ACID(Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability)	CAP( consistency, availability, and partition)

Oracle

MongoDB

• MongoDB database stores the data in the form of documents.
• The MongoDB database model is termed a non-relational database or NoSQL database.
• MongoDB is built using distributed system architecture.
• It stores unstructured data in the database. It uses secondary database models like key-value stores that increase performance and scalability as it does not require SQL. The Key-value store uses primary key access.
• SQL( unstructured query language) is used in MongoDB to manipulate data.
• Database storage is dynamic and flexible, where any amount of data can be stored in a single document or collection.
• It was developed using C, C++, and JavaScript programming languages.
• For server-side scripting, MongoDB uses a JavaScript programming language.
• MongoDB will run on any operating system, like Windows, Linux, UNIX, MAC, Solaris, FreeBSD, and other major operating systems.
• The data is stored in the form of documents and collections.
• MongoDB offers User-defined Map/Reduce methods to its users.
• Shredding is a partition method used to store different data on different nodes.
• MongoDB is open-source and available free to users.
• It is horizontally scalable, which means the power of a machine can be increased by adding more servers and machines.
• NoSQL database is best used for selecting data, and it uses CAP( consistency, availability, and partition) theory.
• No data replication occurs in NoSQL databases, and manual updations are required on the database to ensure consistency.

MongoDB Or Oracle database: Which Is Better?

MongoDB stores all the related data in one place, in documents. This feature increases the data integrity and availability. MongoDB guarantees data integrity when an operation fails in the middle. It allows the users to view the original document by rolling back the document. The MongoDB 4.0 version supports multi-documents that provide ACID properties as a relational database management system.

The documents and data are distributed intelligently according to the user’s perspectives, increasing the speed and flexibility of database operations. The transactions in MongoDB are similar to Oracle RDBMS.  MongoDB provides many more features than Oracle RDBMS, such as shading, scale-out, data availability, data localization, data replications, and others.

MongoDB increases the productivity of the organizations as it reduces the backend work. The MongoDB Stitch serverless platform is used in the development process that does all the backend operations, like getting data into the applications. The stitch QueryAnywhere of  MongoDB stitch allows users to query the database from anywhere in the application. The triggers of stitch give the latest or real-time data in the application that increases effectiveness in decisions.

The flexibility in MongoDB increases with the trigger code that maintains stored procedures more effectively than the Oracle RDBMS. MongoDB also works on mobile phones and other Internet of Things devices where the data can be accessed to increase the speed of the application. MongoDB makes the mobile application run even when the internet is disconnected.

Business organizations are shifting to MongoDB as it enables them to make faster applications with diverse data types. It makes applications scalable and dynamic. Development of applications became very easy with the help of MongoDB, as the backend access to data is automated. The cost of hardware, software, and each solution must be measured to choose the best database. 

MongoDB helps organizations save millions of dollars than the Oracle database management system. Therefore, MongoDB increases the productivity of an organization by reducing the cost of licensing, hardware, and software requirements. MongoDB can be distributed to multiple data centres to increase the performance of the organization, which is not provided by the Oracle database management system.

MongoDB uses different use cases like single View, real-time analytics, content management, catalogue,  internet of things, and personalization. It also adds support for multiple documentation transactions. Many organization have migrated their data from relational database management systems to MongoDB as it reduces downtime, reduces the cost of overhead,  and helps to increase customer experience. E-commerce sites like Amazon, CISCO, and others are the organizations that started using MongoDB over the Oracle relational database management system.

Conclusion

The Oracle Database and MongoDB are the most used applications by organizations, depending on their needs. However, many e-commerce sites that require dynamic updates to their data are shifting towards MongoDB. MongoDB is chosen over Oracle as it provides flexibility in the development process and increases horizontal scalability.

The databases can be easily copied or moved from one server to another in MongoDB, whereas it might consume more time in the case of the Oracle database. MongoDB supports many programming languages that reduce the conversation problem. The MongoDB documents and collections can store complex data in an understandable format, making data objects easy to access and analyze. The Map-reduce function of MongoDB can be used to aggregate reports into one report.

MongoDB will be the best choice when an organization needs a simple and high-speed database for its application. As MongoDB is an open-source platform, user can also create their own plug-in to make the database easier. For a complex database, the Oracle database is better suited than MongoDB.

The Oracle Database is reliable, though slower, as it handles complex data structures and queries. The Oracle database has different tables connected using one-one, one-much relationships to answer complex queries. This research paper explained the features of the two databases, Oracle and MongoDB, and which can be used by organizations. Therefore, Oracle Database is the best choice for complex functions and  MongoDB for simple.