I am getting set to start a project that needs to use some FLAT data, nothing
relational.

when selectiong a town, i need to pull the relevant data from the data source

the data is basic: 800 entries, with some 15 fields each:
-name of town
-population
-elevation
-etc., etc., etc
-history/info (up to 3000 charecters)
-image path 1
-image path 2

I would greatly appreciate some input on couple of doubts.

1. Is ms access (w/datagrip Xtra) a good solution for this???, considering the
overall size of the db and considering that the history/info field contains
text of up to 3000 charecters (access does not seem to admit that many to any
one field)

2. since the data is flat, could i do this just with ms excel spreadsheet???
Are spreadsheets searchable (a sadly ignorant question, i know)?

3. considering the simplicity of the structure , yet the volume of text,
should i even consider doing this as lingo lists?

thanks for all and any input

> 1. Is ms access (w/datagrip Xtra) a good solution for this???

That depends on whether you already have a licence for an xtra that will
read mdb files. I would try to stay away from Access if possible as it's
Windows only.

> 2. since the data is flat, could i do this just with ms excel spreadsheet???
> Are spreadsheets searchable (a sadly ignorant question, i know)?

See above

> 3. considering the simplicity of the structure , yet the volume of text,
> should i even consider doing this as lingo lists?

Yes, I would use a list, or even a script member that returns the data
to you. Or perhaps a vList member/file.

I believe a SQLite databse will work nicely for your needs. You can read
about it here http://www.sqlite.org/

but all you really need is to download this awesome free Xtra by the
wonderful Valentin Shcmidt http://staff.dasdeck.de/valentin/xtras/sqlite/

Make sure you get the SQLite browser as well.

sean and dave
thanks to both.
it is good to have a compass ppointing north at the outset

Just a side comment, if you want simple, the Arca xtra works wonderfully well
and can handle a large amount of data. The up side to using Arca is that you
don't need to install anything on the user's computer.

thanks mathew

i have been up and down the db xtras and arca and valentina certainly look
like the most serious products in terms of features and support. The problem is
that, it now seems that the client needs to be able to update the db from time
to time and it looks like they need a familiar environment - so ms access seems
to be the answer.
as far as i understand arca won't swallow .mdb directly, so that?s out.
let me know if i am wrong and thanx again

As far as ease of editing goes, Arca is the way to go as well.

Download the editing tool... very simple. Also, Arca is built on SQlite, but
with no install.

http://xtras.tabuleiro.com/download/arca.htm

If you can export your current database as an SQL file, Arca will import it. I
love the Xtra.

As far as ease of editing goes, Arca is the way to go as well.

Download the editing tool... very simple. Also, Arca is built on SQlite, but
with no install.

http://xtras.tabuleiro.com/download/arca.htm

If you can export your current database as an SQL file, Arca will import it. I
love the Xtra.