# boost_sqlite review Please accept my apologies for the poor formatting. And a bit thank you to everyone involved in this process. I have long wished for a sqlite wrapper with critical mass. ## Author's Background I am a professional C++ software developer. I have been a professional user and proponent of Boost libraries since the late 2000s. I have been using SQLite for more than 10 years and at one time wrote my own C++ wrapper. ## Initial Thoughts and Use Case At the time I saw the announcement for this review, I was actively evaluating libraries for a project I was (and continue to be) working on. I successfully used the boost_sqlite library in a limited capacity (create, insert, and pragmas only for on disk and in memory DBs). My first impression of the library is that it's extremely lightweight. This simplicity has value but also leaves the end user reinventing the wheel for certain repetitive operations. For example, using class enums for pragma get and set moves defect finding from runtime (bad) to compile time (better!). My second thought was how painful it was to include in my professional project. Our legacy software does not build Boost.json and, while it was trivial to add it for my sandbox app, it is an unnecessary extra dependency. ## Design Evaluation Simple, straight forward, and intuitive. I believe it meets my needs. ### Wishlist Here are some wishlist items I have. They may be inappropriate for this library and boost in general; however, they are still on my wishlist. #### connection It would be great if connection had a simple enum so I could do this: ```cpp boost::sqlite::connection mydb(boost::sqlite::memory); ``` Also, given C++17 `std::fstream` takes `std::filesystem::path`, it would be nice if `connection()` et all did as well. And I wouldn't complain if `boost::filesystem::path` was supported as well. ## Implementation Evaluation I reviewed this library as a user. ## Documentation Evaluation The readme.md file was adequate for me to quickly build a simple SQLite DB application. ## Potential Usefulness This is a useful library. I intend to incorporate this into professional projects as soon as it becomes available in a stable boost release. ## Personal Usage I used the following compiler in my development: gcc (Ubuntu 11.4.0-1ubuntu1~22.04) 11.4.0 I included Boost and Boost.sqlite using CPM.cmake (fetchcontent). It was a trivial operation to include and link. ## Final Thoughts For the past few years I've lamented the lack of a Modern C++ SQLite wrapper with a critical mass of user backing. This library has the potential to fill that gap. I would like to see this library build without the sin dependency. With or without the build dependency change, this library should be accepted into Boost. Scott Bailey On Wed, Nov 13, 2024 at 6:30 AM Richard Hodges via Boost < boost@lists.boost.org> wrote:
Dear All,
Surprise!
The Boost formal review of the Boost SQLITE library starts *TODAY*, taking place
from November 13th, 2024 to November 22nd, 2024 (inclusive).
I apologise profusely for springing this on you without prior warning. The error is entirely mine. I am extending the period by one day to compensate.
The library is authored by Klemens Morgenstern (@klemens-morgenstern in the CppLang slack).
Documentation: https://klemens.dev/sqlite/ https://anarthal.github.io/mysql/index.html Source: https://github.com/klemens-morgenstern/sqlite https://github.com/anarthal/mysql/
From the documentation:
boost.sqlite is a simple to use C++ sqlite library. It provides a modern interface using facilities like error_code, views (e.g. for blobs) and the ability to use boost.describe or boost.pfr for parameterised queries.
Supported features include:
- typed queries - prepared statements - json support - custom functions (scalar, aggregate, windows) - event hooks - virtual tables
SQLite provides an excellent C-API, so this library does not attempt to hide, but to augment it.
Please provide in your review information you think is valuable to explain your choice to ACCEPT or REJECT including SQLITE as a Boost library. Please be explicit about your decision (ACCEPT or REJECT).
Some other questions you might want to consider answering:
- Will the library bring additional out-of-the-box utility to Boost? - What is your evaluation of the implementation? - What is your evaluation of the documentation? - Will the choice of API abstraction model ease the development of software that must talk to a SQLITE database? - Are there any immediate improvements that could be made after acceptance, if acceptance should happen? - Did you try to use the library? With which compiler(s)? Did you have any problems? - How much effort did you put into your evaluation? A glance? A quick reading? In-depth study? - Are you knowledgeable about the problem domain?
More information about the Boost Formal Review Process can be found at: http://www.boost.org/community/reviews.html
The review is open to anyone who is prepared to put in the work of evaluating and reviewing the library. Prior experience in contributing to Boost reviews is not a requirement.
Thank you for your efforts in the Boost community. They are very much appreciated.
Richard Hodges - review manager of the proposed Boost.SQLITE library
Klemens is often available on CppLang Slack and of course by email should you require any clarification not covered by the documentation, as am I.
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