[thelist] Embedded database

[Keith]

At 09:11 AM Friday 3/29/02, you wrote:
>I am creating a web application that depends on a database.  I want to
>eventually distribute the application to others, providing a sample
>database that the end-user can use.  I am lokoing for an inexpensive
>database that I can embed and distribute with my application.  In the
>past I have used MS Access, but I am looking for something to be used
>cross-platform.
>
>It should be able to handle a fair bit of load, have a small footprint,
>and be easy to distribute with the application.  I don't mind paying for
>  the database software, but I don't want to have to pay a license fee
>for each copy I distribute.

Depending on your number of records and nature of use, you might consider
using a flatfile database. If the database will primarily display lookup
results (analytical) then a record number of 20K to 30K is pretty efficient
if your field layouts are arranged so regex matching can be used. If the
database gets frequent changes (operational) then 10K records is still
efficient. That's record count, fields can be in the 200K to 500K area for
analytical and easily 100K for operational.

If the total size of the db file is quite large, copy/pass rewrite of the
db file will not suffice. You'd need to do only a rewrite of the record
rather than a copy/pass rewrite of the db file. There are many techniques
for doing this with fixed record lengths, fixed field lengths or even
random record/field lengths (likewise you can even do only field rewriting
if needed). I believe only Perl is really capable of doing record/field
writing efficiently. If you use these record/field writing techniques
operational flatfile db records can be expanded to the 20 or 30K area quite
efficiently since they never rewrite the file, just the record/field being
changed.

The beauty of using a flatfile DB is that it will run on virtually any
server on the web, you create it so there is no "XX database required", and
it is therefore easily distributed to all kinds of users.


keith

cache at dowebscentral.com