Wow-- thanks very much for the link to the article. That's my situation exactly, with respect to the use of a "flat-file database" for a web app-- I need to go to the toolbox and get the right tool instead of using a file.

I put too much emphasis on the Cookbook's statement that the recipe is the best way for modifying a file in place. Instead of trying to figure out how to add the file locking that the authors recommend to improve the recipe even further, I should have recognized that modifying a file in place is not the right recipe to solve my problem of creating a database that correctly handles updates.

Thanks for not flogging me <g>

In reply to Re^2: Best practices for modifying a file in place: q's about opening files, file locking, and using the rename function by davebaker
in thread Best practices for modifying a file in place: q's about opening files, file locking, and using the rename function by davebaker

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