# What is a document database?
<a name="what-is-document-db"></a>

Some developers don't think of their data model in terms of normalized rows and columns. Typically, in the application tier, data is represented as a JSON document because it is more intuitive for developers to think of their data model as a document. 

The popularity of document databases has grown because they let you persist data in a database by using the same document model format that you use in your application code. Document databases provide powerful and intuitive APIs for flexible and agile development.

**Topics**
+ [Use cases](document-database-use-cases.md)
+ [Understanding documents](document-database-documents-understanding.md)
+ [Working with documents](document-database-working-with-documents.md)