Why sqlite

SQLite will normally work fine as the database backend to a website. An SQLite database is limited in size to terabytes 2 48 bytes, tibibytes.

And even if it could handle larger databases, SQLite stores the entire database in a single disk file and many filesystems limit the maximum size of files to something less than this. SQLite supports an unlimited number of simultaneous readers, but it will only allow one writer at any instant in time. For many situations, this is not a problem. Writers queue up. Each application does its database work quickly and moves on, and no lock lasts for more than a few dozen milliseconds. But there are some applications that require more concurrency, and those applications may need to seek a different solution.

Is the data separated from the application by a network? Relational database engines act as bandwidth-reducing data filters. So it is best to keep the database engine and the data on the same physical device so that the high-bandwidth engine-to-disk link does not have to traverse the network, only the lower-bandwidth application-to-engine link. But SQLite is built into the application. So if the data is on a separate device from the application, it is required that the higher bandwidth engine-to-disk link be across the network.

This works, but it is suboptimal. If the "application" is an application server and if the content resides on the same physical machine as the application server, then SQLite might still be appropriate even though the end user is another network hop away. SQLite only supports one writer at a time per database file. But in most cases, a write transaction only takes milliseconds and so multiple writers can simply take turns. SQLite will handle more write concurrency that many people suspect.

Big data? If your data will grow to a size that you are uncomfortable or unable to fit into a single disk file, then you should select a solution other than SQLite. SQLite supports databases up to terabytes in size, assuming you can find a disk drive and filesystem that will support terabyte files. If you want to develop an application that uses SQLite, you just need to drop these files into your project and compile it with your code.

There is no server process that needs to be configured, started, and stopped. It means all queries and changes are Atomic, Consistent, Isolated, and Durable. In other words, all changes within a transaction take place completely or not at all even when an unexpected situation like application crash, power failure, or operating system crash occurs.

Also easy to pick up and move the database to a different machine if you need to. Owen Owen It's often used for embedded applications. Max Max 1, 1 1 gold badge 11 11 silver badges 17 17 bronze badges. Evan Evan Sign up or log in Sign up using Google.

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