Overview

Modern applications today attempt to reach a global audience in a network-connected world. However, there is demand for local storage and database capabilities in many devices and processes. Those capabilities should be fast, reliable and eventually scalable when it comes to sharing and syncing information.

SQLite was initially developed to solve a local access SQL solution with relational concepts. Having said that, most of today's mobile development will most likely use one of the popular frameworks operating as an ORM (Object to Relational Mapping) for SQLite, like Room for Android or Core Data for iOS. These frameworks manage the entire object to data store life cycle, which is comparable to the capabilities of the database that Atlas Device SDKs provide.

What is SQLite?

SQLite is a C-based library that allows applications to store and retrieve data from local files on devices via a SQL interface. SQLite was started as an open-source project in September 2000 and It is supported on a few platforms, mostly mobile devices and mobile/desktop operating systems. However, it is maintained by a certain group of people and contribution is very limited and governed closely by the creators.

What are Core Data and Room?

Apple’s Core Data and Android Room are frameworks used to manage the lifecycle of objects in a mobile application which often use SQLite as a local/on-device data store. These frameworks provide a structured way for developers to ensure that the data passing through their application is always up to date and in the correct format for whichever part of the stack it is in. Examples of this include updating a datapoint in the UI when it changes in the underlying database, or converting data types between those used in front-end languages and ones supported in the underlying database.

What are Atlas Device SDKs?

Atlas Device SDKs provide a fast, scalable alternative to SQLite that makes storing, querying, and syncing data simple for modern mobile applications. The SDKs provide a database with an object-oriented data model, enabling developers to work directly with native objects – no ORMs or DAOs required. When paired with Atlas Device Sync, developers receive out-of-the-box edge-to-cloud data sync allowing for the easy backup, management, and analysis of mobile app data in the cloud, using the full power of MongoDB Atlas. The Atlas Device SDKs are open source and are available for most popular languages, frameworks, and platforms.

When to use SQLite for mobile applications

SQLite is a veteran in the mobile self-contained database world and therefore, developers with preference to SQL syntax with static schemas might prefer SQLite. However, as mentioned earlier, SQLite is usually not used on its own and will be a part of a Room or Core Data implementation. This added complexity and the need for an additional ORM layer will result in additional coding challenges and more dependencies introduced in your product.

With that said, offline-first and complex schema evolution with agile changes has become a wide challenge for lots of mobile applications and websites. Therefore, a majority of customers should consider the benefits of Atlas Device SDK’s modern solution over the legacy SQLite.

If you require a scalable solution with high concurrently and offline synchronization, SQLite (Room and/or Data) might not be enough for your needs.

SQLite (Room and Core Data) and Atlas Device SDK comparison

Let's look at a simple initial code snippets to query each one of the database implementations for data of Planet Earth:

Core Data Swift

Swift

Code Snippet

Atlas Device SDK Swift

Swift

Code Snippet

Room Android

Java

Code Snippet

Core Data Swift

Java

Code Snippet

As you can see Atlas Device SDK code is much lighter and method oriented. It allows object-oriented languages and frameworks to utilize it with method based access, unlike the Room and Core Data packages which use SQL strings and are susceptible to untidy code and SQL injections.