Small Database Software Recommendation

[Ryan Thompson]

Rod Person wrote to freebsd-questions at freebsd.org:

> Hi Guys,
>
> I'm looking for a small database application to create a database of all
> may dvds and cds. I think mysql my be too much overkill, since it would
> be running on my laptop. Any suggestions.

Yes.

It's raining in Saskatoon. Feels like a rant coming on. :-)

Fully define the requirements before choosing the technology.

MySQL *might* be overkill. I could recommend anything from flat files to
Oracle, though, and be wrong, depending on exactly what it is you want
to accomplish. For a simple key/value hash that you might encounter in
the decades old "album catalogue" problem, Berkeley DB, or maybe Perl's
built-in %hash functions would be the way to go.

Consider your requirements. What is the system for? Who will be using
it? What hidden and evident features must it have? What *tasks* (a.k.a.
"use cases") will the users carry out? What other less tangible goals
are to be accomplished by the system? Which constraints and standards
must the system adhere to?

Once you have the above, you can begin to consider the architecture of
your system, and, once you've done that, choosing a specific technology
might be appropriate.

Requirements specification is *never* overkill.

As far as defining less tangible goals, though, "I want to learn ${X}"
is a valid goal.

Hope this helps,
- Ryan

-- 
  Ryan Thompson <ryan at sasknow.com>

  SaskNow Technologies - http://www.sasknow.com
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