[zokier]

File systems are just nosql databases, hierarchical key-value blob stores. There are obviously ton of other ways to model databases that could be used. For the other extreme end I think Oracle DB runs quite happily on raw disks, or at least did so at some point.

Of course I'm not sure if parent was meaning files as a way to structure/store data (having that hierarchical blobstore) or as a way to access data (something you `open`, `read`, `seek` etc), as they are slightly different things.

For a more real world example, take a look how mainframes, especially AS400 (edit: meant System/360 successors), managed data. At least afaik they fundamentally work on a more structured level.

[dsr_]

Oracle DB's preferred method of data storage is for you to hand it disks for Automatic Storage Management, ASM. It then takes care of replication and storage by itself.

In practice, this might be a little more performant but incurs significant manageability costs. If you're a committed Oracle shop, it's worthwhile. If you just want one or two database servers and you already have preferred storage methods, use those. (Or, more realistically, use PostgreSQL.)