SQL vs NoSQL Interview Answers
Main difference
SQL = Relational, structured. NoSQL = Non-relational, flexible.
Schema
SQL = Fixed schema. NoSQL = Dynamic schema.
Query Language
SQL = Structured Query Language. NoSQL = Varies by DB.
Scalability
SQL = Vertical (scale up). NoSQL = Horizontal (scale out).
Transactions
SQL = ACID (strong consistency). NoSQL = BASE (eventual consistency).
Use Cases
SQL = Banking, ERP, structured data. NoSQL = Big data, IoT, social media.
Examples
SQL = MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle. NoSQL = MongoDB, Redis, Cassandra, Neo4j.
Flexibility
SQL = Less flexible, strong rules. NoSQL = Very flexible, schema-free.
Performance
SQL can slow under high traffic, NoSQL scales better with distributed data.
Together Usage
Many modern apps use SQL for transactions + NoSQL for scalability.
ACID vs BASE
ACID (SQL): Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability. Ensures reliable transactions.
Example: In banking, transferring money must debit one account and credit another together.
BASE (NoSQL): Basically Available, Soft state, Eventual consistency. Focuses on scalability and
availability.
Example: On social media, a comment might not appear instantly everywhere but syncs eventually.
Isolation Example
Without Isolation: Two transfers read the same balance (■5000), update separately, final balance
becomes wrong (■2000).
With Isolation: One transaction completes first, then the second runs on the updated balance, final
balance = ■0 (correct).
SQL vs NoSQL for Analytics
SQL is better for structured analytics (sales reports, finance).
NoSQL is better for big/unstructured data (logs, reviews, IoT).
Example: E-commerce uses SQL for sales reports, NoSQL for customer reviews and clickstream
analysis.
Performance in High Traffic
SQL: Can slow down under heavy load due to ACID constraints, scales vertically.
NoSQL: Scales horizontally, performs better for massive traffic.
Example: Banking (SQL, reliable), Social Media (NoSQL, scalable).
Types of NoSQL Databases
1. Document-based (MongoDB)
2. Key-Value (Redis, DynamoDB)
3. Column-family (Cassandra, HBase)
4. Graph (Neo4j)
Using SQL and NoSQL Together
Many projects use both (Polyglot Persistence).
Example: E-commerce → SQL for orders/payments (structured), NoSQL for reviews/clickstreams
(unstructured).
