What is the difference between DBMS and RDBMS?

Question

What is the key difference between a DBMS and RDBMS and any relation between them?

Answer 1

Every RDBMS is a DBMS, but the opposite is not true: RDBMS is a DBMS which is based on the relational model, but not every DBMS must be relational.

However, since RDBMS are most common, sometimes the term DBMS is used to denote a DBMS which is NOT relational. It depends on the context.

Answer 2

DBMS is the software program that is used to manage all the database that are stored on the network or system hard disk. whereas RDBMS is the database system in which the relationship among different tables are maintained.

Answer 3

DBMS: is a software system that allows Defining, Creation, Querying, Update, and Administration of data stored in data files.

Features:

• Normal book keeping system, Flat files, MS Excel, FoxPRO, XML, etc.
• Less or No provision for: Constraints, Security, ACID rules, users, etc.

RDBMS: is a DBMS that is based on Relational model that stores data in tabular form.

• SQL Server, Sybase, Oracle, MySQL, IBM DB2, MS Access, etc.

Features:

• Database, with Tables having relations maintained by FK
• DDL, DML
• Data Integrity & ACID rules
• Multiple User Access
• Backup & Restore
• Database Administration

Answer 4

There are other database systems, such as document stores, key value stores, columnar stores, object oriented databases. These are databases too but they are not based on relations (relational theory) ie they are not relational database systems.

So there are lot of differences. Database management system is the name for all databases.

Answer 5

DBMS stands for "Database Management Systems" it includes all Databases. RDBMS are a special Type of DMBS . R in RDBMS implies that the database uses the Relational model. a collection of related tables in the relational model makes up a database.DBMS is used for simple and small application while RDBMS is used for applications with a huge database.DBMS are for smaller organizations where security is not concerned(i.e. DBMS does not impose any constraints) while RDBMS is quitely opposite( RDBMS define the integrity constraint for the purpose of holding ACID PROPERTY).

Answer 6

^{After a while I realised that the original answer has some misleading and wrong information. The content of that answer was taken from Udemy site, but unfortunately that link is broken now. I am posting an entirely new answer for future readers. I removed that answer now.}

---

You can think DBMS as a superset of RDBMS (a special type of DBMS).

A non-relational DBMS (sometimes just called DBMS) stores data as tables (without any relations between tables) or flat files. Document databases and graph databases are examples of DBMS.

On the other hand a RDBMS application store data in tabular form with relations between the tables. An example of RDBMS application is MySQL.