D. Richard Hipp wrote: > Is there anybody still using a version of SQLite prior to version > 3.3.0 in a context where they might want to read a database file that > was created by the latest version of SQLite? > > The reason I ask is this: SQLite understands two slightly different > file formats, format 1 and format 4. (Ok, it also understands formats > 2 and 3, but they don't come into play here so ignore that fact for > the moment.) In format 4, SQLite uses a tighter encoding for boolean > values and it honors the DESC keyword on indices. > > All versions of SQLite since 3.3.0 can read and write both format 1 > and format 4. But versions of SQLite prior to 3.3.0 could only > understand format 1. New database files are created in format 1 by > default in order to be readable and writable by older versions of > SQLite. I'm wondering if we have reached a point where this can > change. Can we move to creating new database files in format 4 by > default. > > Please note that this is not a backwards compatibility break. All > prior database files will still be readable and writable by any > version of SQLite after 3.3.0. But this is a forwards compatibility > break. Database files created by SQLite version 3.6.0 or later will > likely be unreadable by SQLite version 3.2.8 and earlier. > > If we do move to creating new database files in format 4 by default, > an application will still be able to create format 1 database files > using a pragma. Or, a compile-time option can be used to force format > 1 databases to be used as the default. > > FWIW, SQLite version 3.3.0 was released over 2 years ago on January > 10, 2006.
What's the advantage to making all new DBs created format 4? I'm against breaking backwards compatibility. One of the most annoying this about SQLite is that version 3.x can't open version 2.x databases (which unfortunately are still out there). Now we're talking about breaking forwards compatibility... I dunno. I like the idea of keeping things as compatible as possible. -- Scott Baker - Canby Telcom RHCE - System Administrator - 503.266.8253 _______________________________________________ sqlite-users mailing list sqlite-users@sqlite.org http://sqlite.org:8080/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sqlite-users
