<aside> 👋 Disclaimer: Much of this section dives deep into the world of MySQL, despite our focus on MongoDB in the rest of the Bootcamp. This is intentional! You cannot truly appreciate and understand MongoDB if you do not first grasp the story and fundamentals of MySQL.
</aside>
The year is 1996. You're name is Michael Widenius, and you've just finished writing the first version for a new software system that you fondly name after your daughter, My. You call it... MySQL.
The MySQL homepage in 2020.
MySQL is formally known as a Database Management System (DBMS) — a software system that mediates ("manages") the relationship between developers and their databases.
<aside> 💡 A database is a structured data set.
</aside>
ie. a list of Facebook posts; songs in a Spotify album; items on Ebay; a digital shopping list
Almost every web app that you will ever create will use data. Although you could store it all yourself in your own format, chances are you'll use a general-purpose database that a lot of smart people made just for web developers like you to use.
Remember all those smart people that made the database for you? They also realized that they could make your life as a web developer so much easier if you just had a virtual assistant to sift through your database for you, too!
<aside> 📚 If a database were a library, then the DBMS would be the librarian. The data would be the books, neatly catalogued into the organized bookshelves inside.
</aside>
Have you ever been to a library, and tried to navigate the endless rows of shelves on your own to find a book? If you have, then you know how much quicker you can get the job done if you just as a librarian for help! (If you don't understand the metaphor... shame on you! 😡) A DBMS makes your life as a developer that much easier — seriously.