Hey guys, sorry for the double post. I can't find a way to delete my old one. I'm new to the business and have a question about using databases with buzztouch. I have very little java experience (I took Java 1 & 2 back in Fall 2007 and Spring 2008 respectively) but changed majors shortly after. I am making an app that will be using a database that comes in several different formats: MySQL, MS Access, CSV, and Excel. I'd rather not give out specific details about my app (paranoid about people stealing my ideas!) but I will be asking these questions with a fake app in mind so you can see what I'm trying to ask. Let's pretend my app is a food recipe app that uses a big database of recipes (it isn't, trust me =P). I want my users to be able to add all the ingredients they have in their kitchen (salt, pepper, ground beef, flour, etc) and get a list of recipes they can make with what they have. I want them to be able to add ingredients either by searching the database from all possible ingredients within the database or by picking them from the alphabetized list of ingredients. I'd like to have the results display all the recipes of which you have 100% of the ingredients already at the top and in descending order give other recipes that you may not have 100% of the ingredients for. Sorting by name or other things like that would also be nice. If the user clicks on a result from the list, I want to customize how the page would look. Let's say they click on a recipe called 'vegetarian pizza'. I want to be able to put the ingredients, the amounts of each ingredient, and the directions wherever I want on the page and have it be the same way for every recipe whenever you click on it. I also want my users to be able to rate recipes, save favorites, and write comments/notes on each one. Assuming this is possible, which format of the database should I use? The database in question has over 16,000 values in it, and each data item has 7 values. I want to store the database locally on the phone if I can to prevent my users from needing an internet connection (3g, 4g, or wifi) to use it. Is this possible, and if so, is it practical for someone with my level of knowledge to figure it out? Thanks ahead of time guys!

I'm interested in this as well, if anybody has an answer!

As David usually says... That will probably require some serious kung-fu coding skills! :P

@ shaggidev: Hi in Modesto, my old stomin' grounds! So, your idea is ambitious but I'm sure you can figure this out. It will definitely take some patience and understanding but it sounds worth it. Cool idea, (even though it's not recipes). Becuase you are asking about keeping data on the phone locally you won't have many choices as far as format. iOS won't run any database software like mySQL, Access etc. This means you'll have to make one fundamental choice: Flat Text Files to store data (csv, json, etc) or SQL Lite, the relational database available for use in iOS. The choice wont' matter much as far as storing data. But, the way the data is queryed and processed will be important. In other words, how are you going to process the selections? In a relational database (like sql lite, mysql, access, etc) you can modify the 'where clause' based on the choices making it easier to fetch the right data and display the right content. Toughter with flat text files, digging through the text files and using your own algorithm to sort / filter / find can get tricky. So..sounds like sql lite is the best approach. THis means you'll need a way to fill up a database with all your data and include it in your project before you compile. Next, assuming the data is in the project, you'll need to design all the possible screens. Tough to advise the best way to do this without knowing more about your top-secret idea. Probably: a) Entry screen to make choices b) Some sort of layter to process the choices, query for the data c) Transition to details screen passing the results of the query along so the screen can dynamically build itself.

Is there a BT documentation to use SQL Lite? I'm interested in using this database to fetch quiz questions/answers as it takes a lot of time to enter Q/A via BT UI.

I found a CSV to HTML converter that put a sample 30 pieces from the dataset into an HTML table. Is there HTML code that runs through a table and returns the values that you need, and if there is, would it be smart to put the entire 16,000+ value database in html form into an HTML page on BT? I'm wondering if I can use Adobe Dreamweaver to do some of the HTML coding for me (sorry it sound like I'm such a noob, you can tell I'm new at this =P)