On Tue, 16 May 2000, John Hasler wrote:
> I'd prefer to have the journal entries in a fixed record length append-only
text file.
I'm not sure that the "append-only" aspect works. Even the "pen and ink"
accountants could modify entries by drawing a line through them.
Much of what you want can be accomplished by storing the active records in a
file and storing that file in an appropriate file system.
I think that this discussion is heading in the wrong direction.
We have a fundamental decision to make. "Do we demand and utilize the power
of a full database system?" If we do, much of the logic of report generation,
etc. migrates into the database. Otherwise, we are just using some form of
structured data storage and the logic remains totally within the application.
In that case, we should not specify HOW the data is stored. John should be
able to use his flat files. Joe can use Sleepycat DB and Mary can use a full
blown enterprise DBMS.
The convenience of a single file datastore is offset in many cases by the
security, efficiency and reliability of multiple files.
I don't think that we should lock ourselves into ONE solution.
