[FAQ] Flat file DB

[R. Rajesh Jeba Anbiah]

Q: I don't have database support, but I want to handle data.
Q: I have a PHP/MySQL script, but my production server doesn't support
MySQL.

A: Always it is better to use wrapper functions around database APIs;
so that you may easily switch from one database to another.
There are number of 3rd party text file database APIs available.

Refer:

http://www.c-worker.ch/txtdbapi/index_eng.php

Q: What is PHP's native solution for handling data in a file?
A:

1. SQLite
2. serialize() with unserialize()
3. var_export() with include()

Caveats:
(2)&(3) will be somewhat harder to implement on a system that already
uses database, even with wrapper.

Refer:

http://www.php.net/sqlite

http://www.php.net/serialize

http://www.php.net/var_export

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@todo Grammar, clarity, brevity. Someone may help