Journal 21

 June 11 - June 17

This week was a good one. I really enjoyed getting to work with my teammates, and the workload was not too heavy to allow for studying time. When comparing MongoDB and MySQL, there are many similarities and many differences. A few key similarities that come to mind are: the use of query languages (MQL and SQL), persistent data storage, and the use of indexing. As far as differences: MongoDB is dynamic while MySQL has fixed schema, MongoDB's lack of built-in auto-increment keys, and MongoDB's data model being document-based while MySQL's is relational. 

I would likely choose MongoDB over MySQL when data is relatively unstructured seeing that MongoDB allows for more flexibility in schema. I would like to one day work in data science, and I could see real-time analytics with complex data being easier to work with using MongoDB over MySQL. However, I can also see when using MySQL may be more beneficial, such as when transactional integrity is necessary. For example, inventory management, or the in-class example of bank ATMs would likely be best done in MySQL. Overall, if you need flexibility, scalability, and have vast, diverse data, MongoDB is the better choice. If you require structure, stability, and relational modeling, then MySQL is likely the better choice. 

I cannot believe this course is already coming to an end. I truly did enjoy this class and felt I learned so much in these short eight weeks. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed not only the programming aspect of this class, but also the reading portion in the textbook. I know I have only taken two other courses up to this point, but this one has been my favorite so far.