Document

As explained in Building Web APIs with ASP.NET Core

A database document is a self-contained record represented as structured fields, commonly including nested related information.

A database document is a flexible collection of key/value fields that represents a record together with related information. Documents are stored in NoSQL collections rather than fixed-schema SQL tables. section 4.1.1

Documents shape relationships and schema design in several practical ways:

• Embed parent-child data—such as comments inside a board-game document—to reduce the need for separate collections. section 4.1.1
• Keep shared entities, such as users, addressable through key-based relationships when multiple documents need to reference them. section 4.1.1
• Favor loosely structured and denormalized schemas, trading fixed organization for flexible records that often contain related data. section 4.1.1

Board-game data

A board-game document can contain the game’s fields and its related comments, while a user remains separately referenceable when used across documents. section 4.1.1

Figure 4.2 MyBGList database schema diagram for a document-oriented NoSQL database

Compare the document-oriented database schema with the table-oriented alternative. section 4.1.1

How Building Web APIs with ASP.NET Core covers it

How deep it goes

Defines document structure and relationship handling, but stops short of implementation syntax or database-specific operations.

Examples

Uses users, roles, board games, and comments to illustrate embedded and separately referenced information.

What it assumes

Contrasts flexible documents with basic SQL tables, rows, columns, and primary-key relationships.

What you can do after

Evaluate whether related data should be embedded or referenced in a flexible NoSQL schema.

How it connects

Connects documents with NoSQL databases, collections, embedded relationships, key-based references, and denormalized schemas.

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  Build Python Web Apps with StreamlitA Document is a LangChain data structure containing source text and associated metadata.
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  Build AI-Enhanced Web AppsA Document is a structured LangChain object representing retrieved content and associated document information.
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  Spring in Action, Sixth EditionA document is a self-contained record in a document database that stores data as structured fields and values.
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  Fabulous Adventures in Data Structures and AlgorithmsA document is an intermediate data structure that represents source-code layout rules and program text for pretty printing.

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Related concepts

• match_all queryproduced by · A match_all query is an Elasticsearch query that matches every document eligible for the search.
• _sourcecontrasts with · The Elasticsearch _source field contains the original JSON document stored with a search or retrieval response.
• Elasticsearch indexpart of · An Elasticsearch index is a named, searchable collection of documents organized for querying and distributed across storage shards and replicas.
• nextproduced by · An iterator operation that advances an iterator and returns its next value or result, with behavior on exhaustion determined by the API.
• data structurekind of · A data structure is an organized representation of data and its relationships that supports defined operations for storing, accessing, or modifying it.

This explainer was generated by Manning's knowledge graph from the text of Building Web APIs with ASP.NET Core. The section links point to the parts of the book it draws on.