SQLite Is a Library of Congress Recommended Storage Format

rmunn•5 minutes ago

> As of this writing (2018-05-29) ...

So this news is nearly six years old. But I didn't happen to know about it until now, so that's not a complaint at all; rather, this is a thank-you for posting it.

alexpotato•about 2 hours ago

I have always loved SQLite.

I have also heard that some firms ban its use.

Why?

Because it makes it SO easy to set up a database for your app that you end up with a super critical component of your application that looks exactly like a file. A file that can have any extension. And that file can be copied around to other servers. Even if there is PII in that file. Multiply this times the number of applications in your firm and you can see how this could get a little nuts.

DevOps and DBA teams would prefer that the database be a big, heavy iron thing that is very obviously a database server. And when you connect to it, that's also very obvious etc etc.

I still love SQLite though.

Fwirt•about 1 hour ago

The question is, do the same firms ban Excel? Excel spreadsheets often end up as shadow databases in unlikely places.

Spooky23•about 1 hour ago

They generally cannot. But they do banish Access.

hermitShell•about 1 hour ago

The sane thing would be to ban Excel and promote SQLite. Excel is often used for tabulated text (issue tracking) not calculations. Perfect use case for a relational db

frollogaston•about 1 hour ago

Excel is made for calculations. But if you make it hard to make a DB, people will abuse Excel as a DB.

ai_slop_hater•about 2 hours ago

That's so dumb

slopinthebag•about 1 hour ago

> DevOps and DBA teams

Ah so two teams nobody should listen to.

frollogaston•about 1 hour ago

At least would take it with a grain of salt when the DBA wants you to depend more on the DBA.

slopinthebag•about 1 hour ago

Same with devops tbh.

"Hey everyone, we need to chose the option that involves us the most and provides us the most job security"

ray_v•14 minutes ago

It's so funny, because I was JUST telling a colleague of mine - another librarian - this exact fact about sqlite!

srcreigh•about 2 hours ago

2026 recommended storage formats: https://www.loc.gov/preservation/resources/rfs/data.html

akihitot•about 1 hour ago

For public-sector data preservation, it may be one of the best options.

The specification is publicly available

- It is widely adopted - It is likely to remain readable in the future - It has little dependency on specific operating systems or services - It carries low patent risk

From the perspective of long-term continuity, avoiding dependence on any particular company or service is extremely important.

Spooky23•42 minutes ago

Archivists also love formats close to native. SQLite lets the relational relationships be present in a way that csv cannot.

akihitot•24 minutes ago

That's certainly true. The ability to define table relationships is a major difference from CSV.

SQLite Is a Library of Congress Recommended Storage Format

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