SQLite

What do you like best?

What I like the most about SQLIte is that it is so lightweight and is readily available to use in Android applications. Looks like it is tailored to work on small devices, leaving a small footprint. It is opensource as well. The installation and setup is done really quick as there are no server configuration required.

Any developer familiar with MySQL syntax can easily and quickly catch-up on SQLite as well. Execution of query is also really fast, thanks to the small footprint. Above all it is totally free to use.

What do you dislike?

Functionality wise, certain features are limited in SQLite when compared to MySQL, Oracle or PostgreSQL. When it comes to its scalability to a larger application and requires some security features, SQLIte is not a very good choice. As much as I know, it does not come with built-in data encryption. Sometimes it is hard to design a complex architecture due to limitations. Also, I didn't find much helpful documentation for SQLite as well.

Recommendations to others considering the product:

If you are looking for a local database for your android applications, I will recommend SQLite. This gives you a quicker turn-around time at a low cost. But, if you think your application needs to be scaled to a large enterprise level, then definitely SQLite is not your item of choice. If you are a business person, not a developer, looking for tools for your company, I recommend SQLite for DBMS for your android application development.

What problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

I have used SQLIte to locally maintain a database in my Android applications. That enabled me to keep the data locally and perform operations really quick by eliminating the transmission delay to server. I used to sync the data to server only when the user requires. This gives a sense of control to the user and provides a seamless experience using the app. Whenever the clients come for a smaller and quicker solution, we tend to prefer SQLite local storage instead of setting up an entire server for them which would not fit in their budget.