This has been a most insightful conversation!

I think you've already answered most of my questions (and more importantly, potential questions). I would appreciate any advice you have on the following structure of events, but I think I'm almost ready to begin.

So the basic structure of the database (from one perspective) would go something like this:

• Database is laid out in a hierarchal directory design. Tables are files on the disk with meta data stored elsewhere (preferably on a separate disk) possibly mirroring the hierarchal structure of the data dir tree.
• Files are (naturally) binary in nature, the exact representation of the data types shall be determined after much googleage and jolt consumption. (I'm still a little fuzzy on how to separate records in the data file - can I just a fix row length in the meta files and go by that?)
• As for reading data from the disk as fast as possible - any last tips on caching to ram? As I see it, try to determine the most used data and ensure it's always in ram. For the small dbs I'm planning on building at first it won't be a problem to load the entire database into ram.
• Seeking specific data from a file - determine applicable fields, iterate over them checking their contents, return the matching results. Any last performance tips here?

This might just be random ramblings at this point, I think you've pointed me in the right direction now. Thanks again for all the help! :)

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