Re: embedded/"serverless" (Re: serverless postgresql)

> From: "David Garamond" <lists(at)zara(dot)6(dot)isreserved(dot)com>
> > I believe the demands for embedded/"serverless" version of PostgreSQL to
> > increase significantly once PostgreSQL is natively available on Windows.
> > So I would expect that official embedded support to follow quite shortly
> > after win32 port has stabilized. :-)
>
> People are always asking for embedded dbms's without really considering
the
> consequences. For example, if you need to share data, you end up with all
> the MS Access sorts of issues. I know because I used to work at Microsoft
> in the department that provided support both for Access and the developer
> products. I suspect the support nightmares may be part of the reason for
> pushing MSDE, and hence *get away* from the embedded dbms model ;-)

My argument of having an embedded or pseudo-embedded postgres is this:

I am never, ever going to trust any really, really important data to an
embedded database. If the user has it on his system the moron might delete
the database files in which case it really doesn't matter how your
protecting it. The user can potentially screw everything up. The reason I
need an embedded database is that sometime my clients need to take a copy of
the app off line and look the info, make reports etc. They also may
eventually be filling out small amounts of data that can then be synced with
the live database once they are back on line. If a clients thinkpad lights
on fire while he's on the plane and he loses 6 hours of data entry well
that's not my problem. But I've ALWAYS got most of the data in a nice
consistent postgres database on my server which is backed up constantly to
multiple locations.

So there are cases where reliability requirements just go down and what I
want is something that acts exactly like postgres so that I don't have to
write custom code for 2 databases. Since I end up just running sqlite
anyway I would prefer to just have an embedded (or pseudo-embedded)
postgres. I'm not going to get all up in arms if something bad happens
because I understand the risks of running it embedded. But those risks will
be the same with any embedded app. I just don't care.

Does this apply to the vast majority of embedded users or is it just me?