Relational Database Management Systems

Some of the most common RDBMSes include Oracle, MySQL, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and DB2. In each case, you have software that runs on a server (or servers) to manage the data, along with separate client software to query and manipulate the data.

To use an RDMS, you first need to install the database software.

Installing a Database

In this chapter, we'll use an open-source database called H2. H2 is written entirely in Java, so you can run it wherever you run a JVM, such as in Windows, Linux, or macOS systems. On account of its portability and simplicity, H2 works well for the database tables we'll create in this chapter.

H2 has some nice features in that it comes with a browser-based database console that you can use to access the database.

Note

H2 can also be used inside your applications as an embedded in-memory database. In this case, the database server and client both exist within your Java application.

To install...