Multimodal data
What is an application database?
An application database stores the scalar rows of an app — users, orders, documents as JSON — and serves CRUD over them.
Updated
How it works
- Rows are records the application mutates.
- Auth, files, and jobs are often separate products.
- Media pipelines are a different schema even if they sit beside this database.
What it is not
It is not a multimodal table. A URL column does not make video a type the engine can frame.
application database: this, and the thing it is confused with
| This | Not this | |
|---|---|---|
| Good at | Scalar CRUD | Frames, passages, and model columns |
| Media | A path or a file service | A typed column |
| Typical products | Postgres, document stores, app backends | A multimodal schema |
Where Pixeltable fits
Pixeltable does not replace an application database for ordinary CRUD. Use it when the rows contain media and model outputs. Comparisons with Supabase and Convex are about that boundary.
Questions
- How does application database work?
- Rows are records the application mutates. Auth, files, and jobs are often separate products. Media pipelines are a different schema even if they sit beside this database.
- What is application database often confused with?
- It is not a multimodal table. A URL column does not make video a type the engine can frame.