Redis Cookbook

Chapter 1. An Introduction to Redis

This chapter discusses some of Redis’s basic concepts. We’ll look into when Redis is a great fit, how to install the server and command-line client on your machines, and Redis’s data types.

When to use Redis

Problem

Nearly every application has to store data, and often lots of fast-changing data. Until recently, most applications stored their data using relational database management systems (RDBMS for short) like Oracle, MySQL, or PostgreSQL. Recently, however, a new paradigm of data storage has emerged from the need to store schema-less data in a more effective way—NoSQL. Choosing whether to use SQL or NoSQL is often an important first step in the design of a successful application.

Solution

There are two important thing to consider when choosing whether to use SQL or NoSQL to store your data: its nature and your usage pattern. Some data is a great fit for a relational storage engine, while other data benefits from the schema-free nature of a NoSQL engine like Redis or its alternatives. If you don’t rely on a particular RDBMS feature and need the performance or scalability of a NoSQL database, that might in fact be the ideal choice. So in order to decide whether your data should be stored in a RDBMS or NoSQL engine, you need to look into a few specific things that will help you make a decision. Also bear in mind that quite often the ideal solution will be to use both.

Are your application and data a good fit for NoSQL?

When working on the web, chances ...