Re: [O] exported contacts problem

[David Masterson]

Eric Abrahamsen <address@hidden> writes:

> David Masterson <address@hidden> writes:
>
>> Eric Abrahamsen <address@hidden> writes:
>>
>>> But Org can be an excellent *interface* to those tools, mostly through
>>> dynamic blocks. I've started using small sqlite databases to keep track
>>> of things, and dynamic blocks as sql composers/views, and it works
>>> great. It's very easy to play with the queries, and this is the first
>>> time I'm actually starting to feel comfortable with sql.
>>>
>>> I think in general Org is best used as a compositional tool for data
>>> drawn from elsewhere.
>>
>> What do you think of RDB? It seems to be an old set of Perl scripts
>> derived from /rdb (an older set of Unix shell scripts) that can be used
>> to do basic relational database commands on textual database tables.  If
>> it could be translated into an Elisp package, it would fit the Emacs
>> model of open source and easily understandable data storage.  It can be
>> gotten via ftp here:
>>
>> cdb.netbsd.org/pub/pkgsrc/distfiles/RDB-2.6d.tar.gz
>
> I've never heard of it! But from your description it kind of sounds like
> another attempt to use relational databases without actually using
> relational databases :) I guess I think databases are one of those
> things you should delegate to an external program. Org is already pretty
> good at interfacing with them.

The interesting point is that it was originally done as a series of
shell scripts (in /rdb) and now is a series of Perl scripts (in RDB)
that implement the key features of relational functions using textual
tables as a relational database system in the Unix sense.  Were I an
Elisp expert (which I'm not), each script could probably be translated
into Elisp and, rather than pipe from stdin to stdout, it could load the
database into an Emacs buffer and then process the result into another
buffer.  *OR*, since RDB is open source, perhaps an Elisp front-end
could be put on it to incorporate it into Org.

Just an idea...
--
David