Best Way to Store Data from a Desktop App?

Question

I'm writing an app in vb.net and was wondering wath the best way to store/retrieve data was?

Answer 1

SQLite is a good choice.

Answer 2

I would recommend the use of a relational database management system (and since you are using VB.NET, Microsoft SQL Server is probably going to be your best choice).

If a full-blown RDBMS is overkill for your application then you may want to read up on application settings.

Answer 3

I too use sql server to manage data for my desktop applicaton if it has to manage a large set of records. But if an application is small then you can use ms-access or mysql as these database engine are light weight. Try to use stored procedures as they can make ur execution faster

Answer 4

It really depends on how much data you want to store. Little data could easily be stored in an XML based configuration file. If you have a lot of data to store, then XML will probably not provide the best performance. The more data you want to store, the more I would direct you to a database.

As for which database, it depends on how much data you want to store, how much work you want to do during installation, and how much control you have over the client's system. SQL Server or MySQL are good large databases, but if this is a small application, they might be overkill. Microsoft has a version of the SQL Server database that is file based (like MS Access). It doesn't allow stored procedures, but it can be embedded within your application (and its free). Its called SQL CE (Compact Edition).

SQLLite is good also, and you'll find a good amount of information to help you with that.

Just off the top, based on what you wrote and the wording, I would guess that you need something small, and quick. I would probably look at MS Access. There are ways you can use it without actually requiring that the user has access installed, its simple to setup, and the database is all in a single file, so installation is VERY easy.

Let me know how this works out for you,

Gabriel

Answer 5

If you just need to store simple configuration files, using the My.Settings namespace is a good way to go. Its very easy to use, and easy to access the data.