RDBMS vs Key-Value pair databases

Question

Why RDBMS?

1. data integrity

2. get quality results with SQL and prevent duplicates

3. use SQL to access the data --> Easy.

4. Many more

Why Key-value pair?

1. horizontally scalable

2. Simple datasets - hashmap, associative arrays etc

3. Easy to put() and get()

4. Many more.

So, is there some kind of wrapper available which binds with the "nosql" kind of databases and give RDBMS-like functionality? For example: Do a JOIN or WHERE on no-sql databases? How is this idea as a masters project - "A wrapper around nosql which gives rdbms-like freedom" ?

Answer 1

I think MySQL fits the bill as a wrapper. One of the interesting features of MySQL is the separation from the storage engine. Thanks for asking this question it made me look it up! The current storage engines are listed here http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/storage-engines.html . If none of these storage mechanism's satisfy your need you can create another one. I've always seen this as both a strength and a weakness of MySQL as people often confuse the interface with the engine.