5.3. Persisting data to a database

Android conveniently includes a built-in relational database.^[1] SQLite doesn’t have all the features of larger client/server database products, but it includes everything you need for local data storage. At the same time, it’s quick and relatively easy to work with.

^[1] Check out Charlie Collins’ site for Android SQLLite basics: www.screaming-penguin.com/node/7742.

In this section, we’ll cover working with the built-in SQLite database system, from creating and querying a database to upgrading and working with the sqlite3 tool available in the adb shell. We’ll demonstrate these features by expanding the WeatherReporter application from chapter 4. This application uses a database to store the user’s saved locations and persists user preferences for each location. The screenshot shown in figure 5.4 displays the saved data that the user can select from; when the user selects a location, the app retrieves information from the database and shows the corresponding weather report.