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A NoSQL (originally referring to "non SQL" or "non relational")^[1] database provides a mechanism for storage and retrieval of data that is modeled in means other than the tabular relations used in relational databases. Such databases have existed since the late 1960s, but did not obtain the "NoSQL" moniker until a surge of popularity in the early twenty-first century,^[2] triggered by the needs of Web 2.0 companies such as Facebook, Google, and Amazon.com.^[3][4][5] NoSQL databases are increasingly used in big data and real-time webapplications.^[6] NoSQL systems are also sometimes called "Not only SQL" to emphasize that they may support SQL-like query languages.