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Overview
Comment: | Fixes to the application file format document. |
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Downloads: | Tarball | ZIP archive |
Timelines: | family | ancestors | descendants | both | trunk |
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SHA1: |
f3db82e049de93469ca5bda4ee47fdb0 |
User & Date: | drh 2014-04-01 13:44:24.108 |
Context
2014-04-01
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15:02 | Strengthen the disclaimers on the "speed.html" page and on the "PRAGMA stats" documentation. (check-in: 0bbad9c76b user: drh tags: trunk) | |
13:44 | Fixes to the application file format document. (check-in: f3db82e049 user: drh tags: trunk) | |
2014-03-26
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18:53 | Version 3.8.4.2 (check-in: 2f86548772 user: drh tags: trunk, release, version-3.8.4.2) | |
Changes
Changes to pages/appfileformat.in.
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113 114 115 116 117 118 119 | documents (ODT and ODP) are also ZIP archives containing XML and images that represent their content as well as "catalog" files that show the interrelationships between the component parts. <p>A wrapped pile-of-files format is a compromise between a full custom file format and a pure pile-of-files format. A wrapped pile-of-files format is not an opaque blob in the same sense | | | | 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 | documents (ODT and ODP) are also ZIP archives containing XML and images that represent their content as well as "catalog" files that show the interrelationships between the component parts. <p>A wrapped pile-of-files format is a compromise between a full custom file format and a pure pile-of-files format. A wrapped pile-of-files format is not an opaque blob in the same sense as a custom format, since the component parts can still be accessed using any common ZIP archiver, but the format is not quite as accessible as a pure pile-of-files format because one does still need the ZIP archiver, and one cannot normally use command-line tools like "find" on the file hierarchy without first un-zipping it. On the other hand, a wrapped pile-of-files format does preserve the document metaphor by putting all content into a single disk file. And because it is compressed, the wrapped pile-of-files format tends to be more compact. <p>As with custom file formats, and unlike pure pile-of-file formats, a wrapped pile-of-files format is not as easy to edit, since usually the entire file must be rewritten in order to change any component part. </ol> <p>The purpose of this document is to argue in favor of a fourth new catagory of application file format: An SQLite database file. <h2>SQLite As The Application File Format</h2> |
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151 152 153 154 155 156 157 | of being able to update individual "files" without rewrite the entire document. <p> But an SQLite database is not limited to a simple key/value structure like a pile-of-files database. An SQLite database can have dozens or hundreds or thousands of different of tables, with dozens or | | | 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 | of being able to update individual "files" without rewrite the entire document. <p> But an SQLite database is not limited to a simple key/value structure like a pile-of-files database. An SQLite database can have dozens or hundreds or thousands of different of tables, with dozens or hundreds or thousands of fields per table, each with different datatypes and constraints and particular meanings, all cross-referencing each other, appropriately and automatically indexed for rapid retrieval, and all stored efficiently and compactly in a single disk file. And all of this structure is succinctly documented for humans by the SQL schema. <p>In other words, an SQLite database can do everything that a |
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219 220 221 222 223 224 225 | information they need from a document. Developers write SQL that expresses "what" information they want and let the database engine to figure out how to best retrieve that content. This helps developers operate "heads up" and remain focused on solving the user's problem, and avoid time spent "heads down" fiddling with low-level file formatting details. | | | 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 | information they need from a document. Developers write SQL that expresses "what" information they want and let the database engine to figure out how to best retrieve that content. This helps developers operate "heads up" and remain focused on solving the user's problem, and avoid time spent "heads down" fiddling with low-level file formatting details. <p>A pile-of-files format can be viewed as a key/value database. A key/value database is better than no database at all. But without transactions or indices or a high-level query language or a proper schema, it much harder and more error prone to use a key/value database than a relational database. <li><p><b>Accessible Content.</b> |
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