From the course: SQL Server 2017: What's New

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What is a graph database?

What is a graph database? - SQL Server Tutorial

From the course: SQL Server 2017: What's New

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What is a graph database?

- [Instructor] From the beginning, SQL databases have stored data using a relational model. New in 2017, Microsoft is adding support for another kind of data structure called a graph database. Before we can understand what a graph database is, let's first take a look at the way we've been storing data. In the traditional relational model, data tables are related to one another in either one-to-one or one-to-many relationships. This is great for things like identifying all the items that were included on a single purchase order or finding all of the classes that a student was enrolled for. Where things get tricky in a relational model is when it comes time to modeling many-to-many relationships. In the past, this was accomplished with a linking or a junction table in two one-to-many relationships. For instance, a many-to-many relationship between magazines and people would involve a table that held subscription details such as the start and end dates and payment status. Each magazine…

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