RE: Difference between EBDB and BBDB

[Drew Adams <drew.adams@oracle.com>]

> > It sounds like, as one big difference, they are incompatible. You
> > cannot use the same "database" records for both. Is that right?
> 
> That's right.
> 
> > If so, that's a big difference. If so, does either provide a function
> > to import records from the other?
> 
> EBDB can import from BBDB;

That's great.

> EBDB hasn't been around long enough for
> anyone to want to go the other way. If someone tried it for a couple
> months and hated it, but didn't want to lose their contacts, I could
> pretty easily write a BBDB exporter.
> 
> EBDB also has pluggable/swappable databases,

That could be even better, in principle.

> so in theory one could make
> a database type that stored to a BBDB-usable file, but I'm not sure why
> you'd want to do that.

Just food for thought:

It's good to be able to separate the use (UI, UX or
whatever) from the database itself - form of records
etc.  Regardless of whether it's BBDB or whatever
else might come along or already exists out there
somewhere.

A generic way for a user to define her own
record-to-record mapping (for whatever storage form)
could help.  It could be a mapping for one-time
conversion or a mapping to use at runtime to access
another database directly.

> I forgot EBDB's other major selling-point: it has a manual!

Excellent.