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Note

Databases are a complex topic which would take an entire course to discuss in depth. So, We will look at a brief introduction to give you a sense of how they fit into this architectural style.

A database is commonly used to store data because it ensures several data qualities, the two key ones are:

• Data integrity: Ensuring data is accurate and consistent over it's lifespan, this is important if you need reliable data.
• Data persistence: A database will make sure that the data will continue to live on after a process has been terminated.

This means you use a database to save all of your data from any number of components. The way the data is stored, presented, and read in a database is different from programming languages.

We have discussed how Abstract Data Types represented with classes are used in Object Oriented programming to modify, and save states.

Relational databases are a type of database that uses tables, which is one of the ways a database uses to store information.

Each table represents an abstraction. An employee table would represent all employees, for example, with each column representing the employee attribute and each row being a unique individual employee.

Integrating a database into a system is fairly simplified as management and optimization of queries and transactions can be automated by a database management system or DBMS