RubyGreenBlue

No Database? Sometimes it feels right.

Posted by keith over 2 years ago

In No Database, Tim Bray talks about why he doesn't want to use a database for storing comments in a blog system.

Tim says:

...there is a psychology out there in our profession,which says: if you have data that you want to store and retrieve, that means you need a database. But sometimes you don’t. And sometimes you come out ahead on one or both of the less-work and runs-fast metrics by not having one.

I agree with Tim here. I'm not saying no databases, ever! I use databases almost all the time, but there are times when not using a database feels like the right way to do it. It's all a matter of the requirements and what you are modeling.

This blog runs on a system that uses subversion to store it's data. To edit posts I don't need to use a web interface or some client talking to a database. I just edit files.

This gives me the freedom to edit my posts in my favourite text editor from anywhere I like. I just need a working copy of my blog repository. And of course with subversion I can edit offline.

As Tim does, I like the semantics of the Unix filesystem and for writing blog articles, it just feels totally right for me.