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F/OSS Flat-File Database?
Leemeng writes "I'm looking for a simple, free, and F/OSS flat-file database program. I'm storing info about Wi-Fi access points that I come across, maybe 8-9 fields per entry. I've outgrown Notepad. This info is for my own reference only; it is not going on a Web server. Googling was unhelpful, with results skewed towards SQL, Access (MS), and Oracle, all of which would be overkill for my purposes. My criteria are: it must be simple, F/OSS, must work in Windows Vista, preferably use a portable format, must not be an online app, and must not require Java. Does such a beast exist?"
Can't be Java... well, how about Python?
Here is a completely free (PD, not GPL-style "you're free to do as we tell you") database engine that will do what you have described thus far.
The database engine is about 19k bytes (not a typo), has no dependencies (other than Python itself), supports a useful subset of SQL so you can actually create flexible queries that produce well-sorted results from your database, and it works everywhere Python does, which is to say, it works pretty much everywhere. It's just as happy operating on a command line as it is on a web server. The results (the actual databases) are 100% portable from OS to OS. I use it on various linuxes, OS X, and Windows for tasks very similar to yours.
Comes with tutorial examples, sample databases and extensive docs. In a 13k (not a typo) archive.
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I would have recommended HSQL, but you don't want Java. Frankly, usually, when we're talking databases I won't say "use a spreadsheet", but with 10 fields, you might as well use a spreadsheet. Of course OpenOffice.org Base is out, because it uses HSQL.
Something like CSQL might fit, but I have no experience with it.
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Comma Separated Variable Text Files, as exported and imported by Excel. You can get libraries to read and write these, and search these in most languages.
Otherwise what's wrong with a simple database like MySQL or PostgreSQL on your computer?
No comprende? Let me type that a little slower for you...
Sqlite is used in many apps (including Firefox), it's small, and it's efficient. It also has bindings to just about every imaginable language.
I find it amazing that you didn't come across it in Googling...
Get it http://www.sqlite.org/ here.
There are GUI clients that work fine for this sort of thing, SQL is simple for doing basic things. One file, one database.
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a comma delimited file?
Umm... just write a few one-liner perl scripts to get info out.
Since the majority of the comments so far have pointed at SQLite, I'm kind of surprised that the post didn't come "from the sqlite dept." :)
Use perl with a tied hash like BerkeleyDB http://search.cpan.org/~pmqs/BerkeleyDB-0.34/
Easy, fast, simple.
Trying to solve such an issue as a flat file is a poor design characteristic. This says "I don't want to learn SQL" or "I want the output human readable." If you just want to store information for programmatic use, use SQLite and quit worrying about data storage format. If you want it human readable, grab libxml2 (works on Windows too) and store it as XML. Decide which problem you are solving because if you don't need (i.e. it's not helpful) it human-readable and/or want the ability to search it quickly without loading the whole thing into memory, then SQLite is probably a better solution.
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Open office should do the trick.
BDB is *not* a relational database though, it's just a storage/indexing engine, which is used most notably by MySQL as a backend. SQLite on the other hand is a full file-based RDBMS with a small runtime, so it might be a bit of overkill for you in this particular scenario.
But both of them run on Windows, Linux and the BSDs, so you won't have portability problems. And most languages have bindings for them.
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If that doesn't satisfy your need, take a look at Berkley DB. It offers a more sophisticated interface than DBM.
A database seems overkill.
Read the XML records into an STL container for easy access.
Just get Python, and use the version of SQLite that comes with it:
import sqlite3
mydb = sqlite3.connect('sample.db')
mydb.execute("create table contacts (fname text, lname text, email text)")
mydb.execute("insert into contacts values('Spooky','Monster','spook@spammity.spam')")
mydb.commit()
mydb.close()
You can then use the free and open SQLite database browser to browse, edit, and print your table.
You may think you're keeping it simple by using a flat file, but you're really not. It may be somewhat easier to manually edit, but it's also easier to screw up, and I've never heard of one with the ability to undo changes.
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Metakit is a small footprint database that might fit your needs. Metakit
echo "badger, badger, badger, badger, snake" >> my_file
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If it's just for your reference, you don't need a database at all. Databases don't become technically worth-while until you get to indexing. And until you have fifty-thousand records, or complex queries, you don't need indexing.
So why not simply write out a tab-delimited file? Retrieval is as simple as reading every line, splitting by the delimeter, and regexp'ing whichever field you're examining. 15'000 records takes about two seconds on a modern machine. Of course, for anything more complicated, that same file gets easily imported into your favourite spreadsheet application.
You don't need to worry about locking because you're the only one using it. And otherwise, your application simply locks the file handle, or creates & destroys a traditional lock-file.
It's a thirty-line perl script (of legible perl). You can do it in JScript as a local HTA if you want the benefit of html etc. interfaces.
Class dbtxt includes the ability to undo changes, and features human-readbility for the flat database files. It's trivial and not error-prone at all to mod a database file to delete, or undelete a record, and of course you can do it through the database engine as well.
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Why mess about with filty batchfiles, bashscripts and clunky sqlite, mysql. How about a full Oracle Database 11g Enterprise? o;)
I'm guessing he wants a FOSS version of FileMaker Pro; something that is an application with a GUI. All you guys are suggesting various frameworks he can use to program his own. No, I don't have an answer either, other than to suggest the spreadsheet in OpenOffice.
set first "Spooky"
set last "Monster"
set email "spook@spammity.spam"
# In practice it's really easy to put values into variables
mydb eval {insert into contacts values (:first,:last,:email)}
The advantage? That code is now totally armour-plated against SQL injection attacks as well as being fast. Which is nice, really really nice.
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He doesn't need python. He just needs a database. He can download a precompiled binary for windows that allows one to work with the database at the command line. Python is not necessary.
And if the command line is too much, as others have noted there is already a convenient firefox extension for graphically interacting with a sqlite database.
Your problem is that you are looking for a "database". This is a very complex kind of program that is total overkill for your purpose. Will you really be storing hundreds of thousands of records and wanting to do some complex querries? Ifnot why not just use a speadsheet? If you want a free spreadsheet look at OpenOffice.
Why one earth would you use a database to store one table on information? Save youself some trouble and use a spreadsheet.
Berkely DB?
Been searching flat files with this open source VB5 program since 1999. Searches flat files at 20,000,000 cps displaying hi-lited hits in matching lines only or full context mode. Results can be exported to a results file. Append txt files together. Search and replace option. Run multiple versions with various default settings. I have been yapping and yapping about flat files, only to get great amounts of resistance from the Geeks. The search uses lots of defaults and quick keys (for typists). From startup to shutdown nothing is faster. Channel9 and thedailyWTF.com have the best threads. Check it out. It's the only program you'll ever need
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1) My example was done to show how quick and easy it would be to set up and populate a table in Python.
2) He's explicitly mentioned several times that this is for his own private non-web use.
3) Your fly is open.
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