Database terms
Where your data lives, breathes, and occasionally panics
Almost every application is, at its core, a system for reading and writing data. This category covers relational and non-relational databases, query optimisation, indexing strategies, transactions, normalisation, replication, and the CAP theorem trade-offs that dictate how distributed data behaves. Choosing and using the right database correctly is one of the highest-leverage skills in backend development.
Database Query Result Streaming PHP 8.0+
Processing large result sets row-by-row without loading the entire dataset into memory - essential for PHP CLI scripts handling millions of rows.
5d ago
database intermediate
Database Indexes
Data structures that allow the database engine to find rows matching a condition without scanning every row — the single most impactful performance optimisation available for read-heavy PHP applications.
2mo ago
database intermediate
Database Replication PHP 5.0+ Copying data from one database server to replicas — synchronous replication guarantees zero data loss, asynchronous is faster but risks losing recent writes on failure.
2mo ago
database intermediate
Database Triggers PHP 5.0+ Stored procedures that fire automatically on INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE — useful for audit logs and enforcing constraints, but dangerous when they become hidden business logic.
2mo ago
database intermediate
Document Stores PHP 7.0+
Databases that store semi-structured documents (JSON/BSON) — MongoDB, CouchDB — flexible schema, nested data, and horizontal scaling at the cost of no joins and eventual consistency.
2mo ago
database intermediate
DSN Security & Connection String Secrets PHP 5.0+
Database credentials in connection strings must never be hardcoded — use environment variables or secrets managers, least-privilege users, and never log DSNs.
2mo ago
database intermediate
Database Deadlocks PHP 5.0+ A situation where two or more transactions hold locks the other needs, each waiting indefinitely — resolved by the database killing one transaction.
2mo ago
database advanced
Database Indexes — Types & Trade-offs PHP 5.0+ B-Tree, hash, full-text, and partial indexes — each suited to different query patterns, with write overhead as the cost of read speed.
2mo ago
database intermediate
Database Normalisation
The process of structuring a relational database to reduce redundancy and improve integrity, defined through progressive normal forms (1NF through BCNF).
2mo ago
database intermediate
Database Schema Design PHP 5.0+ The process of defining tables, columns, data types, constraints, and relationships — decisions made at schema design time are expensive to reverse once data is live.
2mo ago
database intermediate
Database Transactions PHP 5.1+ A sequence of SQL operations treated as a single atomic unit — all succeed or all roll back — enforcing ACID guarantees.
2mo ago
database intermediate
Database Views & Materialised Views PHP 5.0+
A view is a saved SELECT query presented as a virtual table. A materialised view stores the query result physically — trading freshness for query speed.
2mo ago
database intermediate