Polyglot Persistence
Polyglot persistence is a software architecture approach that uses multiple data storage technologies within a single application to handle different data types and access patterns. It recognizes that no single database can optimally serve all data needs, so it combines specialized databases like relational, document, graph, or key-value stores. This allows developers to choose the best tool for each specific data requirement, improving performance, scalability, and flexibility.
Developers should adopt polyglot persistence when building complex applications with diverse data models, such as e-commerce platforms needing relational data for transactions, document stores for product catalogs, and graph databases for recommendations. It's particularly useful in microservices architectures, where each service can use its own database type, and for big data scenarios requiring real-time analytics alongside transactional consistency. This approach helps avoid the 'one-size-fits-all' limitations of traditional monolithic databases.