Online databases typically do this through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) through which programmers can access and even modify the data where allowed. Family Historian does this and allows users with programming ability to write Family Historian plugins which they make freely available. When access is given to a program’s data, tremendous things can be done by the user community. This is what a database looks like with a program such as SQLiteSpy: They’ll want their programming community to interact with it. And I’m sure that Gramps won’t encrypt their database. They have an open API for their MyHeritage site as well and encourage developers to support their systems. And I’ve not yet seen any complaints from anyone that the RootsMagic SQLite database is open.įamily Tree Builder 8.0, like RootsMagic, also did not encrypt their new SQLite database. You get a community of people who can feed off your database and write utility programs and enhancements. You can write and update to the database yourself with an SQL tool if you know what you’re doing. The SQLiteSpy tool and many others can view and read all the data in the database. RootsMagic to me does it right and leaves their SQLite database open. If the database is encrypted, then nobody can use an SQLite tool to add something to it, delete something from it, or corrupt the database in some way.īut I personally think that is a mistake on the part of the developer. I think Jack may have been referring to the security of the database itself.

Keith wondered about that in his comment and noted that GEDCOM has the same data and is just as insecure. Jack’s reason was for “the security of user data”. Keith replied back that the FTM SQLite database is encrypted, which basically means it is protected from being read except by authorized programs that know the encryption key. (I use the free tool SQLiteSpy from Delphi Inspiration). I commented to Keith asking if he’s ever tried viewing the FTM database with an SQLite browser. And I understand that Gramps is considering SQLite for their Version 5.0 release. Tamura Jones recently reported on the new FTB technology. My Heritage recently rewrote Family Tree Builder using SQLite, which is used in their new version 8.0. Instead, at least to me, it appears that the SQLite Tools for RM group has mostly reverse engineered what the codes in the database seem to mean. If they were, they would have supplied the database structure definitions to them. RootsMagic has let the group do what it is doing, but does not appear to have been helping them. They benefit from a small techno user community who are developing addons, and look at the great stuff they’re doing. I had known for a long while that RootsMagic uses SQLite. It is not likely to become a database that will become unsupported anytime soon. It is open source and has a very large support community.

It uses standard relational constructs and the universally used SQL (Structured Query Language) to access and update its data. SQLite is a multi-platform, speedy, single file database with a small footprint that’s embeddable within the executable of a program. Keith indicated that the Family Tree Maker database was based on the SQLite database software. An article by Keith Riggle yesterday: “ Where Are the Free Family Tree Maker Updates” caught my attention.

Gramps family tree maker