Question

I want to save and load database on disk.

What I really want is to be able to do the typical application save as and open things with the database. Means when I want to save the database, I will click the save as button, and give a name to the database, and then save it. Later I want to be able to load back the database, by using open button to find the path to the database.

I’m using sqlite and java, and I heard that firefox bookmark manager using sqlite to store bookmarked data. And I don’t know the correct term but roughly I want to be able to do like firefox bookmark manager to save and load the database.

Hope you guys can shed some light here.

Answer 1

You can use SQLite database files in two possible ways:

1. Like a database: Upon the first run of your application, you create the SQLite database file and create the schema (using CREATE TABLE SQL commands etc.). Then, whenever you want to change the saved data, you access your database file and execute single UPDATE, INSERT or DELETE statements to modify exactly those records that have changed. This makes operations such as Save as not quite straightforward, but it’s comparably fast for large amounts of data where only small parts are modified.
2. Like a data file: Every time you save your data, you create a new database file (if there was one with the same name before, you delete it first). You then create the whole schema, and then you write all the information to the database file (using INSERT SQL statements). This allows you to handle things with the traditional Save/*Save as* commands.

For more detailed information, please ask more specifically; in particular, outline your problem if you need to know which approach serves you best.