CRUD stands for Create, Read, Update, and Delete. CRUD is the basic operations of the database management system (DBMS), and is used when you want to create, view, edit, or remove the data inside the application’s database.
Any organization and application software that needs to store information like user account information, shop items, payments, etc., will often keep them in a database. And to manage these databases, you will need CRUD operations to perform the functions of creating, updating, and removing the data.
A programmer can change these data through writing code, or a user through interacting with graphical user interfaces (GUI).
How CRUD exactly works
To get an idea of how CRUD works, let’s pretend that you are managing an e-commerce website.
1. Create
When you got a new product from the supplier and want to list it on your website, so your customers can see the product and buy it, you use the Create operation. The Create operation allows you to add new data to the database.
2. Read
When you are looking for a specific product and use the search bar to find the product, you are using the Read operation. The Read operation allows you to search and retrieve the data that you have created in the database. It won’t modify the data or alter it in other ways - you can only read the data, and that’s about it.
3. Update
When you spot a typo in one of the product names and want to edit it before the customer sees your mistake, you use the Update operation. The Update operation allows you to change the existing data that you have created in the database. You also use the update operation when you want to add more information to the product.
4. Delete
When you want to remove the product from your website because the manufacturer has stopped producing it, and it’s no longer available in the market, you use the Delete operation. The Delete operation allows you to remove the data from the database that you don’t need anymore.
Why CRUD is important
The CRUD concept may be simple enough, but all the world’s most popular applications follow the CRUD pattern when you think about it. Google, Windows Office, Facebook, PayPal, Amazon, Uber, and others used CRUD as a model to build the application. Without the CRUD operations, it will be impossible to make these applications.
CRUD is very important because it helps you think about how to design an application that relies on user’s data. If you understand the CRUD concept and can create, view, modify and remove the data from the database, you can virtually create any application you can imagine.
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