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<h2>SQLite Is Serverless</h2>
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Most SQL database engines are implemented as a separate server process.
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Programs that want to access the database communicate with the server
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using some kind of interprocess communication (typically TCP/IP) to send
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requests to the server and to receive back results.
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SQLite does not work this way.
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With SQLite, the process that wants to access the database reads and
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writes directly from the database files on disk.
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There is no intermediary server process.
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There are advantages and disadvantages to being serverless.
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The main advantage is that there is no separate server process
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to install, setup, configure, initialize, manage, and troubleshoot.
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This is one reason why SQLite is a
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"<a href="zeroconf.html">zero-configuration</a>" database engine.
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Programs that use SQLite require no administrative support for
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setting up the database engine before they are run.
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Any program that is able to access the disk is able to use an SQLite database.
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On the other hand, a database engine that uses a server can
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provide better protection from bugs in the client
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application - stray pointers in a client cannot corrupt memory
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And because a server is a single persistent process,
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it is able to control database access with more precision,
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allowing for finer grain locking and better concurrency.
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Most SQL database engines are client/server based.
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Of those that are serverless, SQLite is the only one
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known to this author that allows multiple applications
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to access the same database at the same time.