RethinkDB is an open source, distributed, and document-oriented database built to store JSON documents and is used to scale multiple machines with very little effort. It's easy to set up and use, and it has a powerful query language that supports advanced queries such as table joins, aggregations, and MapReduce.
This chapter covers major design decisions that have made RethinkDB what it is now including the unique features it offers for real-time application development. We're going to start by looking at the basics of RethinkDB, why it is different, and why the new approach has everybody excited about using it to build the next generation web apps.
In this chapter, you will also learn the following: