RE: PIM databases (SQLlite vs. XML arguments)

Adam,

This comes up from time to time. XML is an extremely poor choice for a
native file format. It is a data exchange format. None of your listed
strong points for XML are necessary for the core data structure of a PIM,
but they would be useful for exchanging data. XML is a nice technology, but
it is not a panacea for all data storage. Nor was it ever designed,
intended, or conceived as such by those who've created it.

If you chose to do some benchmarking, don't forget that you need to account
for indexing, data size, support for large numbers of records, schema, AND
schema evolution. Then take into account the impact of having multiple
applications all accessing the same data in a concurrent fashion.

You did remember that there will be multiple PIM applications written in
multiple languages, application specific extensions to the base schema,
etc., right?

Now some of your ideas for what could go into the XML look interesting, and
should probably be presented in terms of a formal relational schema.

        --- Noel
Received on Sun Feb 10 2002 - 16:01:36 EST