In this chapter, we covered the basics of what Redis is, and how it’s both similar to and different from other databases. We also talked about a few reasons why you’ll want to use Redis in your next project. When reading through the upcoming chapters, try to remember that we aren’t building toward a single ultimate application or tool; we’re looking at a variety of problems that Redis can help you to solve.
If there’s one concept that you should take away from this chapter, it’s that Redis is another tool that you can use to solve problems. Redis has structures that no other database offers, and because Redis is in-memory (making it fast), remote (making it accessible to multiple clients/servers), persistent (giving you the opportunity to keep data between reboots), and scalable (via slaving and sharding) you can build solutions to a variety of problems in ways that you’re already used to.
As you read the rest of the book, try to pay attention to how your approach to solving problems changes. You may find that your way of thinking about data-driven problems moves from “How can I bend my idea to fit into the world of tables and rows?” to “Which structures in Redis will result in an easier-to-maintain solution?”
In chapter 2, we’ll use Redis to solve problems that come up in the world of web applications, so keep reading to get an even bigger sense of what Redis can help you do.
