Saturday, 30 July 2011

Google open-sources LevelDB, a non-relational database

Non-relational databases are seeing a lot of interest these days as alternative to relational / SQL-based databases. While they are not exact equivalents, not replacements, non-relational databases are simply better suited for certain kinds of data, and today there is a plethora of options for those looking for a NoSQL solution. Google has just added yet another to this field.

LevelDB is a key-value storage engine written in C++, and its source code has now been released under a BSD-style license. Google designed LevelDB as a building block for a higher-level storage system, and it will in fact form the basis for the IndexedDB API – a new web standard for using apps that need a database – in future versions of Google Chrome.

Unlike MySQL or even non-relational databases such as MongoDB and CouchDB, LevelDB is not a server that multiple clients can connect to and operate remotely or even locally. It is a library included in your application to give it support for LevelDB as a data store, similar to SQLite.

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