Writing your own storage-system: where to start?

Question

reading about NoSQL (http://nosql.eventbrite.com/), a movement aimed at encouraging the dropping of traditional relational databases in favor of custom, application-suited storage systems.

Intrigued by the idea of trying to write a small personal storage system (for the .net framework) as a learning pet project, what are you suggestions or useful links? Where to start? How to balance what's on the hard drive and what's in memory?

I think this could be an interesting opportunity to learn the insides of database inner work, but I really lack the most basic theory of it. Thanks.

Answer 1

The NoSQL movement is aimed at huge scale systems, at sizes where the relational model truly breaks. Before you start writing your own storage I highly recommend understanding the relational model, as is one of the best documented and well understood domains in CS. Start with the Gray's and Reuter's Transaction Processing, this book explains everything there is to know about implementing a classic RDBMS. Next on your list should be the Readings in Database Systems, this is a collection of the most relevant scientific papers and articles.

Answer 2

Before you get going I would recommend looking into SQL Servers ability to store XML files as BLOB objects inside the relational database. Perhaps your storage system doesn't need to be "from scratch". It could be a hybrid on top of SQLs XML storage capability.