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Replacing a 3 GB SQLite database with a 10 MB FST (finite state transducer) binary
(til.andrew-quinn.me)
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this post was submitted on 11 May 2026
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essentially they were using a database that needed much more than what they required which made everything super slow, so they used a more precise and small tool for the job they needed exactly, reducing the db's size. am i correct? i've been touching on this topic a bit recently so it's all still very new to me.
Yup, that basically sums it up. The key part though was that doing the inefficient thing first allowed them to make progress and to understand the problem better by working through it, which later led to a more clever solution. The moral of the story here is that it's always better to solve the problem even if your solution isn't optimal, and then reflect on it.