In 2020, SQL is one of the high demand technical skills in the workplace today. Developed long time ago in the 1970s, it is still remained to be the way we interact with most of our data systems until today. Since it first developed, SQL has changed and evolved to meet every needs throughout the decades. This is the reason why SQL has stuck around for so long and still going to stay.
With so much changes taking place on in the technical world, this article will summarize some of the major trends currently appearing in the SQL and data analytics world. As Melbourne web developer, it is important for you and us to stay up to date with the trends. This article will provide a clear picture of some of the more important changes.
SQL Is Not Just for Data Engineers and Analysts in Data-Driven Companies
If you are working at a technology-driven company or startup, then you have probably realized that data drives everything. And the ability to interact with data is crucial. To do so, you need to know SQL, since it is the language of data.
This ability to run queries easily is also driven by the fact that SQL editors no longer need to be installed. With cloud-based data, warehouses come with SaaS SQL editors. Now you can just go to a URL and access your team’s data warehouse. This has allowed anyone in the company easy access to their data.
Overall, we foresee a future where not just big tech companies are using SQL and analytics to drive good decisions. For that, we will need tools that make it easier for anyone to access their company’s data.
SQL and Analytics Are Becoming More Collaborative
SQL and analytics are becoming more collaborative. As discussed earlier, getting insights from data is becoming more prolific. That means more people are getting involved in creating queries, analytics, and metrics.
Technologies like PopSQL offer the ability for your team to collaborate and track your work on queries easily through folders and version control. It means you don’t have to worry about someone accidentally changing your query on a report or dashboard. You can always revert back to previously saved state with version control.
Furthermore, tools like Figma and PopSQL are also integrated with other collaborative tools like Slack. These integrations make it easier for you and your team to share any charts and insights with each other.
Open-Source Remains the Most Popular Database
Paid licensed database management systems like Oracle and MSSQL might seem like very popular options for teams to develop on. However, MySQL and Postgres, two open-source database management systems, are currently the most popular options for developers to use.
Postgres introduced object-relational database management system (ORDMS). This new style of relational database This takes on similar properties as object-oriented programming, where you can have classes and inheritance. An in addition, it also allows for arrays and has some PubSub abilities.
Cloud-First Open-Source Databases Are Gaining Traction and Funding
Many companies had chosen to shift from paid to open-source database management systems. And Postgres is the common choice, but it was not developed with cloud infrastructure and complexities in mind. This forces teams to develop complex cloud infrastructure to manage applications that are being used all across the world.
This problem solved later in July 2019 by YugaByte, which went 100% open-source.
Many of you might wonder “What is YugaByteDB?”
YugaByte’s proprietary document-oriented storage format is a heavily customized form of RocksDB that offers low-latency access and a high density of data. It runs on popular and known APIs.
YugaByte aims to solve the problems that developers face when deploying SQL databases that require sharding and complex infrastructure to run multi-region systems. It does so by auto-sharding and load balancing as well as several other features that take advantage of the cloud-first approach.