[Tutor] Re: What kind of database-like thing can be used for really small things?

[Charlie Clark]

On 2002-03-20 at 18:01:19 [+0100], tutor-request@python.org wrote:
> 
> This actually raises a quick question -- are there any small-scale open 
> source relational databases?  I have been using MySQL for a while and I 
> really like it, but I was wondering if there is something that can be 
> easily embedded into a Python program.  Or is the preferred means of 
> storing things like "preferences" to place them in a file?  I am 
> interested in something that can run in Unix or Linux.
<off-topic>
Linux is a Un*x by the way or better put the various distributions of Linux (SuSE, Debian, RedHat) are Un*x built on the Linux kernel. I think the confusion is intended. Go *BSD (also Un*x) or even better go BeOS (definitely not Un*x) except for databases while select() doesn't (yet) work.

I've been working with MySQL for the last two days and it's a pig %-(. But tastes vary and luckily Python and Zope will soon be hiding me from most of it.
</off-topic>

> MySQL would be perfect except that it is really overkill to what I have 
> in mind -- I'm thinking of something light and small that can store or 
> retrieve data for a program that calls it, not a RDBMS server that can 
> support numerous requests in a second etc.
> 
> But I don't know if this is even something that exists.
Gadfly would be perfect for what you want but it also sounds as if you could use "shelve" or "pickle" or "anydbm" depending on whether you need record-locking. Use "shelve" and "pickle" if all you need to do is store the state/values of objects and you don't have to worry about concurrent access. "anydbm" will make use of any "dbm" on the machine and there should be at least one on your install.

Charlie