Hi, I was thinking about using some flash memory for a database (Sqlite), and saw a little 4MB module. I was actually looking for more like 256MB or even more.
Any ideas on how to have a persistent pretty big database on a Gadgeteer board? And is the SQlite feasible for that purpose.
My experience is that SD cards wear out after being used frequently (logging to it for 2-20 times per day) for a couple of years in a microcontroller device. I am not aware of why, and if thumb-drives will show the same tendency.
the number of writes to a page in flash memory is “limited” by design. A driver is responsible for not always writing to the same location on flash disk but tries to devide using all available pages. (Wear leveling)
Yeah SD cards aren’t the most reliable devices but they do the job. At the same time though all Solid state devices have limitations so I think your going to have problems no matter what you choose. Even standard hard disks can fail after a couple of years
I would love to see a Gadgeteer device with a larger storage capacity but the price rises rather steeply with these chips. I had a look a while back.
At the end of the day all I can suggest is buying a reliable SD card brand and model and ensuring you make daily backups to another device such as the USB stick. Log every time a problem occurs on the SD card to give you an idea of any potential problems with the plugged in SD card and try to predict failiures