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Databases in 2025: A Year in Review

cs.cmu.edu

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Re: Databases in 2025: A Year in Review

#61

Post by qcnguy »

codeulike wrote: post #59

Barely any mention of Oracle or MS Sql Server, commonly reckoned to be #1 and #3 most used databases in the world https://db-engines.com/en/ranking

Oracle is mentioned at the start, where he proclaims the "dominance" of Postgres and then admits its newest features have been in Oracle for nearly a quarter of a century already. The dominance he's talking about is only about how many startups raise how many millions from investors, not anything technical.

And then of course at the end he has a whole section about Larry Ellison, like always.

Re: Databases in 2025: A Year in Review

#62

Post by [deleted] »

danielfalbo wrote: post #4

Maybe off-topic but, If you're not familiar with the CMU DB Group you might want to check out their eccentric teaching style [1]. I absolutely love their gangsta intros like [2] and pre-lecture dj sets like [3]. I also remember a video where he was lecturing with someone sleeping on the floor in the background for some reason. I can't find that video right now. Not too sure about the context or Andy's biography, I'll…

[deleted]

Re: Databases in 2025: A Year in Review

#64

Post by randomtoast »

TekMol wrote: post #9

From my perspective on databases, two trends continued in 2025: 1: Moving everything to SQLite 2: Using mostly JSON fields Both started already a few years back and accelerated in 2025. SQLite is just so nice and easy to deal with, with its no-daemon, one-file-per-db and one-type-per value approach. And the JSON arrow functions make it a pleasure to work with flexible JSON data.

I would say SQLite when possible, PostgreSQL (incl. extensions) when necessary, DuckDB for local/hobbyist data analysis and BigQuery (often TB or PB range) for enterprise business intelligence.

Re: Databases in 2025: A Year in Review

#65

Post by radarroark »

beders wrote: post #21

While the author mentions that he just doesn't have the time to look at all the databases, none of the reviews of the last few years mention immutable and/or bi-temporal databases. Which looks more like a blind spot to me honestly. This category of databases is just fantastic for industries like fintech. Two candidates are sticking out. https://xtdb.com/blog/launching-xtdb-v2 (2025) https://blog.datomic.com/2023/04/d…

People are slow to realize the benefit of immutable databases, but it is happening. It's not just auditability; immutable databases can also allow concurrent reads while writes are happening, fast cloning of data structures, and fast undo of transactions.

The ones you mentioned are large backend databases, but I'm working on an "immutable SQLite"...a single file immutable database that is embedded and works as a library: https://github.com/radarroark/xitdb-java

Re: Databases in 2025: A Year in Review

#66

Post by jimmar »

> "The Dominance of PostgreSQL Continues"

It seems like the author is more focused on database features than user base. Every metric I can find online says that MySQL/MariaDB is more popular than PostgreSQL. PostgreSQL seems "better" (more features, better standards compliance) but MySQL/MariaDB works fine for many people. Am I living in a bubble?

Re: Databases in 2025: A Year in Review

#68

Post by spprashant »

jimmar wrote: post #66

> "The Dominance of PostgreSQL Continues" It seems like the author is more focused on database features than user base. Every metric I can find online says that MySQL/MariaDB is more popular than PostgreSQL. PostgreSQL seems "better" (more features, better standards compliance) but MySQL/MariaDB works fine for many people. Am I living in a bubble?

I think author is basing his observations on where the money is flowing. PostgreSQL adjacent startups and businesses are seeing a lot of investment.

Re: Databases in 2025: A Year in Review

#69

Post by sanderjd »

delaminator wrote: post #10
TekMol wrote: post #9

From my perspective on databases, two trends continued in 2025: 1: Moving everything to SQLite 2: Using mostly JSON fields Both started already a few years back and accelerated in 2025. SQLite is just so nice and easy to deal with, with its no-daemon, one-file-per-db and one-type-per value approach. And the JSON arrow functions make it a pleasure to work with flexible JSON data.

From my perspective, everything's DuckDB. Single file per database, Multiple ingestion formats, full text search, S3 support, Parquet file support, columnar storage. fully typed. WASM version for full SQL in JavaScript.

This is a funny thread to me because my frustration is at the intersection of your comments: I keep wanting sqlite for writes (and lookups) and duckdb for reads. Are you aware of anything that works like this?

Re: Databases in 2025: A Year in Review

#70

Post by apavlo »

p2hari wrote: post #3

The author mentions about it in the name change for edgeDb to gel. However, it could also have been added in the Acquisitions landscape. Gel joined vercel [1]. 1. https://www.geldata.com/blog/gel-joins-vercel

Thanks for catching this. Updated: https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pavlo/blog/2026/01/2025-databases-re...

I need to figure out an automatic way to track these.

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