Local Database vs Service-based database when building a WPF Client application

Question

I'm building a simple WPF client application that is going to store data locally. My question is Local Database enough? I don't know the amount but there could be a few lines in the future when I'm tracking time.

Except some performances issues like stored procedures what else do I lose when choosing the local version? I'm boxing myself in a corner?

Pros with local: Easy deployment, don't need a SQL express installed

Cons: Has limitations. But how limited am I?

Answer 1

The question you need to ask yourself is:

"What is the purpose of my application?"

If you answer includes one of the following:

• The application collects and stores data from users that will be consumed by one or more other users.
• The data I collect will have a lifespan longer than any single installation of my application
• A user of my application needs to be able to access their data from any machine on which they install the application.

you're going to need a remote centralized service for storing your data. If not, then storing your data locally is probably okay.

Answer 2

To store data locally you can use the SQL Server 2008 Compact database engine that is is simple to deploy because you just need to copy a couple of files. It does not have all the capabilities of the full SQL Server but then it has the major benefit of being free!