Re: Looking for keyed file package

[Robert Dewar <robert_dewar@my-deja.com>]

In article <37E8F0C1.A49C3E2D@easystreet.com>,
  Al Christians <achrist@easystreet.com> wrote:
> >> It would be interesting to understand why you are
> doing things "by hand" here at such a low level,
> rather than use a DB.

> It's not worth buying a database for

Well that's a non-technical objection, and a curious one,
since there are as likely to be free software databases
around as free software indexed file systems (indeed I
know one of the former, none of the latter).

> and the speed objectives,
> processing hundreds of thousands of records in much
> less than an hour, and the large file sizes make me
> reluctant to try MS Access, the only database likely
> to be available on the target machines.

No, indeed I was talking about a real data base with efficient
processing, definitely you do not want Access which is really
a bit of a toy in this regard.


> All this data is going to come together next month at
> a site that I have not yet visited.  Simpler is better
> when preparing to walk into a new location and run
> from a cold start.  I don't know if their version of
> Access is the same as the one I could use here to
> develop and test, what the differences might
> be, or how much trouble they might cause.  I don't want
> to find out.  I just need the simplest thing that will
> work.  Low-cost doesn't hurt, either.

Well of course you would install the database at the target
site, just as you would have to install the indexed file
system. Alternatively you could statically link either into
your application.



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