Which database to use?

Note: Forking discussions from issue #2

Please list the pros and cons of different databases under consideration. Factors to keep in mind are

1. CrisisCommunicator currently uses a SQLlite backend
2. Interaction of the Message Daemon(MD) with the same database used by the web application.
   • The MD receives/sends messages over the underlying network
     • On a receive, the MD may have to query the database. e.g. match a person to the missing persons database.
     • A Send is triggered by the UI. e.g. add a missing person sends out a detail to all devices on the network
3. CrisisCommunicator currently uses Django. Hence, the choice of DB should play well with Django.

Table of Contents Choices SQLlite Pros Cons ZODB Pros Cons

Choices

SQLlite

Pros

• Very popular database - with a large number of OSS projects.
• Already being used by the application
• Good support with Django
• Easy querying using SQL
• Has a proper schema

Cons

• Takes more memory
• Requires significantly more code - using Django Models
• Message Daemon implementation will be tougher/bigger

ZODB

Pros

• Faster
• Easy to code - because it uses Object Oriented principles.
• Perfect for use with the Message Daemon - will simplify code greatly.

Cons

• Well known, but not widely used database
• Django ZODB connector is work-in-progress.
• Querying will be hard without the right object mappings.
• Migration to ZODB will take time and a lot of effort(but not impossible)