Search code examples
sqliteruntimecreate-table

Creating SQite-tables while running a program


I have seen several members on this forum warn about creating tables in a database while the app is running. Instead it is encouraged to create the tables while programming, and only fill the tables with data during runtime.

E.g while creating a note-app it would be convenient to let the user specify a name for a single note, and let this note be created as a table in a database. This by creating the table at the time the user creates the note, and letting the name of the note be the name of the table. Why would this be a bad practise? Have I misunderstood?


Solution

  • It would be highly inconvenient for both you and the user of such an app to create a table for every note the user might want to add. It's just not the way it works. A table should contain rows of information of the same type, such as a note for example, and each note should be added as a row/record in the said table. The table should be called notes for example, and if you want a name for each note, it can be a column in the notes table called name.

    An analogy would be, if you are taking notes manually (without an electronic device that is), would you have one notebook with you and just add notes on different pages as you need to, or would you carry around a bag full of notebooks so that whenever you want to add a new note, you would add each note in a separate notebook?

    The notebooks being equivalent to database tables in this analogy, and the pages of the said notebook being equivalent to rows in a database table.

    I can't think of a reason for creating tables during runtime really. The database structure should be "set in stone" so to speak, and during runtime you should only manipulate the data in the database, which is adding, deleting, or updating rows/records in already existing tables. Creating tables during runtime is a big no-no.