0

I'm brand new to stackoverflow and programming in general, and this is going to be a somewhat long-winded question, so please bear with me:

Background: I'm using Xcode 4.6.3 on OS X 10.8.4 for all coding atm.

I've been configuring databases on Filemaker pro as a hobby for a few years now (for those who aren't familiar with FM, think MS Access or similar) and am now looking into C++, objective C and cocoa in order to build a database free of any kind of 'parent' program like FM.

Specifically; I have used filemaker to configure a clients database incorporating POS and accounting features for a few small businesses. This, however, requires each user to already have filemaker installed in order to be able to run my db.

Edit: Perhaps a less ambitious question: What languages/libraries/APIs/etc will I need to learn in order to create my own front end for a MySQL driven database?

ie, for a very simple start: A Clients table with columns: ClientID, ClientName and Visits table with columns: VisitID, ClientID (relational) and VisitDate AND a front end GUI for OS X capable of creating/editing/deleting/searching records.

Swifty
  • 95
  • 9

1 Answers1

0

You don't want to write your own database. If you want to write some crude persistence layer where you're reading/writing files (or something similar), then that's fine.

Here is a link about why you don't want to write your own database: http://ayende.com/blog/162691/worlds-smallest-no-sql-database

If the main reason you don't want to use a third party database like Filemaker Pro is that it costs money ... there are tons of rock solid databases that are free.

Go check out SQLite, MySQL, Postgres, or even MongoDB.

ryan1234
  • 7,237
  • 6
  • 25
  • 36
  • I'm afraid "no SQL database" doesn't mean much to me at the moment. As far as I understand (and please forgive my ignorance here), SQL is a language for querying databases. But what actually creates them in the first place? I may have worded my question poorly; this is more of a quest for knowledge. I'm more interested in learning _how_ databases work than in creating one asap that suits my needs. – Swifty Aug 23 '13 at 00:42
  • Sure. Check out http://stackoverflow.com/questions/172925/how-do-databases-work-internally or other articles for how databases work internally. Also check out a site like this for really in depth explanations: http://use-the-index-luke.com/. I've found lots of great database primers at http://regulargeek.com/ as well. SQL is a language for querying. The internal mechanics are quite complex, but if you look around you'll find many of them have things in common - like using BTrees to store data. Hope that helps! – ryan1234 Aug 23 '13 at 16:15