Shared Database
A shared database is a database architecture where multiple applications or services access and modify the same centralized database. It centralizes data storage to ensure consistency and avoid duplication, but can lead to tight coupling between systems. This approach is common in monolithic applications or legacy systems where data integrity and single-source-of-truth are prioritized.
Developers should use a shared database when building tightly integrated systems, such as monolithic applications, where strong data consistency and transactional integrity are critical, like in financial or inventory management systems. It simplifies data management by having a single schema and reduces the overhead of data synchronization, but it's less suitable for microservices architectures due to scalability and dependency issues.