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Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the difference between "iDB Pro", "iDB Lite", and "iDB Free"?'Lite' is based on the very first, prototype template engine. It has a static infrastructure and can support some 2000+ records in total, however, those slots need to be allocated between different database types. Therefore the static limitation on the number of records a database may have in 'Lite'. We will keep improving 'Lite' to overcome or at least alleviate its static limitations. In fact, 'Lite' used to be more limited. iDB Pro version 1.0.4 introduced some memory management internals, and in turn it is also used to improve 'Lite's capacity without affecting memory footprint adversely. Increasing the 2000+ magic number would provide more records to iDB Lite, but then, they will eat up iPhone resources unnecessarily (memory) if they don't get used, introducing a heavy memory footprint to the device unnecessarily. A later version replaced Lite's template engine while keeping the user interface as is. It also implemented 'restore' feature. lacks). That is 'iDB Pro'. 'Pro' initially has much smaller footprint and fully dynamic. Of course, 'Pro' can get pretty big based on the number of records loaded on it, and based on how they are swapped in and out. Note that it is not feasible to upgrade from 'Lite' to 'Pro' without Apple's cooperation. Third party iPhone applications must have unique product or bundle IDs. Therefore it is not feasible to develop an 'upgrade' product. Even if such a product may initially import 'Lite' data in, and convert/update it into 'Pro' functionality, it can never have 'Pro's product ID. therefore a unique 'update' product cannot keep up with Pro's updated versions. 'iDB Free' is another iDB product we offer. It is a custom release for the sole purpose of demonstrating iDB functionality and providing an idea about how iDB databases look like. Below is a comparison of the three.
Q: Is there support for "iDB Lite" in the long term?ABSOLUTELY! iPhone 'native' application market is currently around $5 - $10 market. That is mainly because developers currently cannot post trial versions of their applications to AppStore. (see related FAQ). Therefore, customers end up *gambling* on applications, hoping that what they purchase *might* match their needs. They also rely on iTunes customer reviews where they may not reflect the reality accurately. A customer can post a review haphazardly, and perhaps without really understanding how the application works. This is a concern especially for feature-rich applications. Not to mention that any subscriber --currently-- can post a review without even purchasing the application. We recently tried to address this problem by releasing "iDB Free". It is of course not as good as a full-blown trial version, but hopefully it will address some of the concerns customers may have. Unless market conditions change, we expect the 'Lite' to be the flagship product, and intend to support it, fix it, service it whenever needed. However, development will remain focused on the full version, hoping that conditions would change in the future. 'Lite' will not be taken off the market. It will be supported; its bugs (if any) will be addressed.
Q: Can "iDB Datamaster" full version restore an "iDB Lite" backup dump?Yes. Simply, 2) Exit 'iDB Lite'. 3) Launch 'iDB Datamaster'. 4) Launch its iDB Server. 5) Get a dump from 'iDB Datamaster' for safe keeping (in case anything goes wrong). 6) Restore 'iDB Lite' dump file into 'iDB Datamaster'.
Q: What is the "iDB Server"? Is iDB a Web-Application; is the server a node on Internet where data resides?'iDB Datamaster' is a *native* iPhone application. It is NOT a web-application, it has nothing to do with the Internet. 'iDB' will work even when iPhone is in 'Airplane Mode'; when there is no wireless, no phone connection, no Edge, nor 3G. Data is kept in iPhone. It is not kept in a server, therefore it cannot be compromised. 'iDB Server' is a small web-server. When launched, it runs within the iDB application, inside iPhone/iPod. 'iDB Server' eliminates the need for a custom desktop client. Ordinarily a desktop program talks to iPhone/iPod, synchronizes with, takes back-ups from, restores into, etc. in iDB, any computer browser can connect to iDB Server, and perform backups and restores. Since a browser client can take backups from the server, iDB Server must be password protected. That is what the 'server login', 'password', 'port number' are for in 'Configuration' settings. Their initial settings are: 'idb', 'idb', '8080'. You are strongly encouraged to change those. Also, you must limit your iDB Server usage to backup/restore times only, and shut it down once you are finished.
Q: Is iDB going to use my 3G minutes?Absolutely not! See the FAQ above.
Q: When I edit my records, when do they get synched with the "iDB Server"?The data is always in synch, because there is only one copy of the data, and it is inside iPhone/iPod. During backup, iDB feeds the data to 'iDB Server', during restore 'iDB Server' feeds the data to iDB. iDB is the sole user of the data; it is the only soul who knows how to read / write / interpret / encrypt / decrypt it.
Q: I have some encrypted databases. After backup, I see the whole dump is readable. Why?The backup dump file is *not* what is in iPhone. iDB internal data structure has nothing to do with CSV format and the backup file. During backup, (as well as during list, display, edit, move, search, etc.) encrypted fields are decrypted in memory first, and then processed. The sole purpose of using CSV format for backup dumps is for future interoperability
with other applications that are capable of handling the same format. It also allows migrating
data from other applications, by simply adding them to the CSV dump and restore.
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