Even though the history of NoSQL dates back to 1998 [Carlo Strozzi], the NoSQL movement gained momentum with the exponential popularity of Cloud Computing (the term Cloud Computing was introduced in 2006). The term NoSQL was reintroduced 2009.
NoSQL databases are available as commercial as well as open source database management software from various IT vendors. Some of the NoSQL databases support SQL (Structured Query language) or SQL-like query language, hence to avoid the misunderstanding that NoSQL is “No to SQL”, NoSQL is defined as "Not Only SQL". There is no specific definition for NoSQL since NoSQL is basically an accidental term. NoSQL databases are capable of handling large amounts of structured, unstructured, semi-structured and hybrid data with an amazing performance at reduced complexity and cost. These databases are specifically designed for low cost commodity hardware for the storage and access of data across multiple storage clusters. For example, Google, Facebook, Google+, Google big table, Amazon Dynamo, Twitter etc., all collect and store Terabytes of data for their users every day. NoSQL databases are found suitable for such type of application since it is possible to Scale Up/Scale out the NoSQL databases simply by distributing the database over several hosts or nodes as the load increases. This thematic series publishes research papers about the relationship and application of NoSQL databases to cloud computing.
Edited by: Ganesh Chandra Deka