Data store explained

A data store is a repository for persistently storing and managing collections of data which include not just repositories like databases, but also simpler store types such as simple files, emails, etc.^[1]

A database is a collection of data that is managed by a database management system (DBMS), though the term can sometime more generally refer to any collection of data that is stored and accessed electronically. A file is a series of bytes that is managed by a file system. Thus, any database or file is a series of bytes that, once stored, is called a data store.

MATLAB^[2] and Cloud Storage systems like VMware,^[3] Firefox OS^[4] use datastore as a term for abstracting collections of data inside their respective applications.

Types

Data store can refer to a broad class of storage systems including:

• Paper files
• Simple files like a spreadsheet
• File systems
• Email storage systems (both server and client systems)
• Databases
  • Relational databases, based on the relational model of data
  • Object-oriented databases. They can save objects of an object-oriented design.
  • NoSQL databases
    • Key–value databases
    • Wide-column stores
    • Graph databases
• Distributed data stores
• Directory services
• VMware uses the term datastore to refer to a file that stores a virtual machine^[5]

See also

• Data architecture
• Data flow diagram
• Database
• Distributed data store

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2011-04-04. Information Management. Glossary D: data store. A place where data is stored; data at rest. A generic term that includes databases and flat files.. 2013-01-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20130114213951/http://www.information-management.com/glossary/d.html. dead.
2. Web site: Datastore - MATLAB & Simulink. in.mathworks.com. 2016-01-11.
3. Web site: Managed Object - Datastore. 2016-01-11. 2016-01-11. VMware. VMware. 2016-03-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304111304/https://www.vmware.com/support/developer/vc-sdk/visdk41pubs/ApiReference/vim.Datastore.html. dead.
4. Web site: Data Store API. Mozilla Developer Network. 2016-01-11. 2014-12-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20141223222343/https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Data_Store_API. dead.
5. Web site: Managed Object Description . Pubs.vmware.com . 2019-07-02 . 2019-07-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190708015233/https://pubs.vmware.com/vi3/sdk/ReferenceGuide/vim.Datastore.html . dead .