Introduction

Last updated on 2025-02-21 | Edit this page

Overview

Questions

  • What is a relational database?
  • What is a spreadsheet?

Objectives

  • Explain the difference between a relational database and a spreadsheet
  • Explain the advantages and disadvantages

Starting Point

First exploration of features

For a first impression of what is possible with NocoDB, add a review of a painting.

  1. Look for your favorite painting and put all the metadata and the painting into the form
  2. Open the tabular results view, enter the password “NocoDB_Carpentry” and watch the database grow
  3. Open the database management interface and change records, if you made any mistake
  4. Finally, you can now view a gallery of all the images with metadata in the database

If everything went right, we filled a database with different paintings from different artists with a form in NocoDB without even creating accounts for everyone.

Callout

Notice that I used different links for different tasks you did. We had a link for a form, for viewing the database, for changing the database and for viewing the gallery. All this is pretty simple to create in NocoDB and how you can do this and even more for you own project, is what we will learn in this carpentry.

But before we create a new database and fill it with information and data, we should learn the basic concept behind all this. What is a relational database or a spreadsheet, why should i use these and how do I organize my data to get the best use out of all these concepts.

Relational Database

Relational databases form the foundation for storing and managing structured data in many modern projects. They are based on a model where data is organized in a tabular form, each table consisting of rows and columns. This structure allows efficient data storage, querying, and manipulation. A key feature of relational databases is the use of primary and foreign keys that define strong relationships between different tables. These keys support data integrity and facilitate complex data queries involving multiple tables. SQL (Structured Query Language) is the dominant language used for creating, managing, and querying relational databases. Its powerful commands like SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE enable users to interact with data and extract valuable insights from large datasets. Overall, relational databases offer a robust and reliable solution for enterprise data management, ensuring high data quality and security through their structured and rule-based setup.

Spreadsheets

Spreadsheets are one of the most versatile and widely used tools for data analysis and management. They allow users to organize data in a flexible format that supports simple to complex calculations and analyses. Typically, spreadsheets consist of a grid of cells, organized in columns and rows, which can contain data such as text, numbers, and formulas. One of the strengths of spreadsheets is their ease of use, which enables even non-experts to effectively manipulate and analyze data. Formulas and functions, like SUM, AVERAGE, and VLOOKUP, provide powerful ways to perform automatic calculations and consolidate data. Moreover, modern spreadsheet programs like Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets support advanced features such as pivot tables, conditional formatting, and the integration of scripting languages like VBA and Google App Script, which allow for task automation and the creation of custom functions. Spreadsheets are therefore indispensable in many business, academic, and private applications, where they are used for data storage, financial analysis, planning, and much more.

What is NocoDB?

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