ZDatabase - Unity Database

I'm finally getting around to messing around with the database and I have a couple of questions.

1. Can I have multiple instances of a database? For example: Quest DB and Item DB. If so, how is this done?

2. How can I change information about the DB? Such as passwords, DB name, etc. I see the ZDatabase file there, but I'm not sure if I should mess with it or not. There's nothing in the documentation about it, either.

These are my main concerns at the moment, I may have more as I play around with it.

Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks for trying ZDatabase.

1. There is only one instance of the database. You can differentiate your data by using prefixes (or suffixes) with your field names. For example, "Quest_XXXX", and "Item_XXXX". If you read my previous posts on the speed of ZDatabase, you'll see very little overhead is gained, even with 100K+ items.

2. There is a function called ChangeDBKey(byte[] newKey), which will allow you to change the encryption password on the database. The documentation covers all the nitty gritty details.

 

Okay. What if I want to copy the database to another project? I'm using another program to enter values into the database as I don't want to clutter up my original project with a lot of extra stuff.

How about setting up ranges? For example, quests are all DB ranges from 10001 to 20000. Items are from 1 to 10000. Maybe NPCs or something would be from 20001 to 30000. I like things being organized, and I'd prefer to keep things simple if possible.

Sorry for the crazy questions, I'm trying to figure this all out and I haven't messed with databases in a long time.

 

Yes, you can set up field ranges. You could name the fields something like "Quest_10001", "Quest_10002",etc. I do something similar for my own games.

 

Two quick questions...

1. Is this a wrapper around PlayerPrefs?
2. The answer to 1. is no, where does the data save to when written to disk, registry? If file, where is it stored and can you specify a custom name for it?

Thanks!

 

I'm wondering the same thing. I want to copy the DB to another project and knowing this information would be great.

 

ZDatabase does save to the PlayPrefs file

 

Sir,

How do we create a database?
Regards,
vanhouten777.

 

It's created automatically the first time you use any of the Write functions

 

Hy there! Amazing asset

I got two questions:
1) How much data can I store in a field? For example in a byte[]-field? Is there unlimited space for data or does it get truncated?
2) How long does it take to read the data (for example my big byte[]-field)? Is it asynchronous or do my app freeze until its done?

Thanks for your support.
Happy Holidays!
Best wishes from Austria

 

As far as I can determine, there is no size limit for a data field, other than those imposed by the data type itself.

Reading speed is variable, and depends on two factors: a) how many records are in the database, and b) how big the record itself is.

I previously posted my read speed test results, and there really is no appreciable performance difference until around 100K records.

Yes, the read is sequential. If you need to read async, then I would recommend creating a CoRoutine to do the read. However, please note that even with a very large database, the max time to read was about 2 seconds in the absolute worst case scenario (large record, at the "end" of the database recordset).

If you're reading multiple large records, I would recommend showing a progressbar of some type to the user, so they know you're game is doing work.

Hope this answered your questions.

Happy New Year

 

Yep. Thanks
Happy New Year to you too

 

I have released an for ZDatabase - its being reviewed by Unity and should be approved in the next few days.

This update includes new encryptions supported on all Unity platforms (including WP8), and improved compression of certain data types (Vectors, bytes, etc).

Because of these changes, you'll need to run an Conversion script in your game clients before you can use the new functions. I've included documentation in the new package, and will also attach it here.

If you have any questions, please feel free to post here or email me. Thanks.

 

Hey all,

I've published a new asset called "Extension Methods for Unity", which has over 800 extension methods for Unity and general C# development. Methods were submitted by the Unity community, gleaned from third party websites, and developed by me during my game development career.

Tested on these platforms: PC, Mac, Android, iOS, WP8, and Web Player. Should work on all Unity supported platforms.

Methods for:
* Targeting
* Layers
* Movement and Rotation
* GameObjects and Components
* Spawning Objects and Prefabs
* Serialization
* Exceptions
* Lists and Arrays
* Cryptography (WP8 safe)
* Numbers and Conversions
* Strings
* Many more!

Documentation

Extension Methods for Unity on the Asset Store

 

Do you ever plan on adding GUI/no coding interface to you asset?
I was particularly looking for something that would save time with coding. and these types of tasks are so much easier in a gfx interface.

 

Hi Kiori,
To be honest, I hadn't considered it until you asked.

I could see an advantage for it. I'll put it on my list, but I probably won't be able to work on it until next month.

Thanks,
Philip

 

Thanks! I Mean its not that hard to implement, and it could greatly speed the workflow. Plus it could be a top feature for the asset.
If you do it, be sure to include the option of creating/editing lists or connected/tagged values, and not just individual variables floating around.

 

Hi.

Please tell me how to migrate v1 of data to v2.

"Migration script (ZDConvertToV2.ConvertEncString described in the document)" can not be found.

Do'll be of "ZDConvertTo15"?

Or ZDConvertToV2.ConvertEncString I'll be a function of the purchaser itself created in the original？

I want to read the data of v1 in v2.

 

Might be a typo in the doc, the class is "ZDConvertToV2".

You'll need to convert each field one time, using the ZDConvertToV2 functions.

 

Thank you for answer.

But I tried to effective the following script did not work.

I'm sorry understanding is poor.

If it is good, Could you provide a sample of the script.

-----
//[ condition ]
//after save v1-data

//***example1
//error console | CS0103: The name `ZDConvertToV2' does not exist in the current context
if (ZDatabase.ReadEncString ("v1-data") == "") {
ZDConvertToV2.ConvertEncString("v1-data");

string s = ZDatabase.ReadEncString ("v1-data");
ZDatabase.WriteEnc ("v1-data", s);
}

//***example2
// no error, but not convert
ZDConvertTo15.ConvertEncString("v1-data");
-----

 

HI Mikusu,

Apologies for the delay - I've been out of the office for the holidays.

If you are upgrading from a previous version of ZDatabase, you could do something like this:

Let's say you have two fields you already saved with the older version:

ZDatabase.WriteEncString("v1_string", "string value");
ZDatabase.WriteEncInt("v1_int", 1);​

In your upgrade script, I would first check if an upgrade has already happened, and if not, then perform the upgrade, like this:

if (! ZDatabase.ReadBool("HasUpgradedZDatabase", false))
{
// upgrade string
ZDConvertToV2.ConvertEncString("v1_string");

// upgrade int
ZDConvertToV2.ConvertEncInt("v1_int");

// set the upgrade flag, so this only runs the first time
ZDatabase.WriteBool("HasUpgradedZDatabase", true);
}​

That script, above, should run before any of your code that uses ZDatabase.

After that script runs, the rest of your original code would remain the same.

 

Hi merlin981

i juste updated to V2 but don't work on IOS 8.1.2 :

Code (CSharp):

1. // First time create defaul race value
2.         if (! ZDatabase.ReadBool("DefaultRecordsCreated", false))
3.         {
4.             // the default records have not been created, so begin creating them here
5.             ZDatabase.Write("raceOne", true);
6.             ZDatabase.Write("raceTwo", false);
7.             ZDatabase.Write("raceThree", false);
8.  
9.             ZDatabase.Write("tmpRace", 1);
10.  
11.             // the final line should set the created flag, so this block will not run more than once
12.             ZDatabase.Write("DefaultRecordsCreated", true);
13.         }
14.  
15.         btnRace02.GetComponent<UIButton>().isEnabled = false;
16.         btnRace03.GetComponent<UIButton>().isEnabled = false;
17.  
18.         if ( ZDatabase.ReadBool("raceTwo", false) == true)
19.         {
20.             btnRace02.GetComponent<UIButton>().isEnabled = true;
21.         }
22.  
23.         if ( ZDatabase.ReadBool("raceThree", false) == true )
24.         {
25.             btnRace02.GetComponent<UIButton>().isEnabled     = true;
26.             btnRace03.GetComponent<UIButton>().isEnabled     = true;
27.         }

in other script :

Code (CSharp):

1. void SetNextRace ()
2.     {
3.         tmpRaceNum = ZDatabase.ReadInt("tmpRace", 1);
4.         Debug.Log("Current race number "+tmpRaceNum);
5.         switch (tmpRaceNum)
6.         {
7.         case 1:
8.             data.SetBestTime1(GetStringBestTimeLaps());
9.             ZDatabase.Write("tmpRace", 2);
10.             ZDatabase.Write("raceTwo", true);
11.             break;
12.         case 2:
13.             data.SetBestTime2(GetStringBestTimeLaps());
14.             ZDatabase.Write("tmpRace", 3);
15.             ZDatabase.Write("raceThree", true);
16.             break;
17.         case 3:
18.             data.SetBestTime3(GetStringBestTimeLaps());
19.             Debug.Log("All race completed");
20.             break;
21.         default:
22.             //..
23.             break;
24.         }
25.         // Open win panel
26.         ViewScore();

When I finish course can't open course number 2 but :

ZDatabase.Write("tmpRace", 2);
ZDatabase.Write("raceTwo", true);

is called.


Works fine with version 1.4

Thanks

 

Hi Stephanie,

Three questions

Did you run the upgrade script before attempting your reads?

Are you getting any exceptions?

If so, can you please list them?

Thanks,
Philip

 

Thx Philip,

I don't have upgraded because i don't use encrypt function maybe this this my mistake ?
Upgrade is obligatory ?

And no exception or error, just nothing are saved.

 

Another strange error, if i wrote :

Code (CSharp):

1. ZDConvertToV2.ConvertEncString("v1_string");

The name ZDConvertToV2 does not exist in the current context

 

Ok tried to update :

Code (CSharp):

1. if (!ZDatabase.ReadBool("HasUpgradedZDatabase", false))
2.         {
3.             // upgrade string
4.             ZDConvertTo15.ConvertEncBool("raceOne");
5.             ZDConvertTo15.ConvertEncBool("raceTwo");
6.             ZDConvertTo15.ConvertEncBool("raceThree");
7.            
8.             // upgrade int
9.             ZDConvertTo15.ConvertEncInt("tmpRace");
10.  
11.             // upgrade string
12.             ZDConvertTo15.ConvertEncString("bestTime1");
13.             ZDConvertTo15.ConvertEncString("bestTime2");
14.             ZDConvertTo15.ConvertEncString("bestTime3");
15.            
16.             // set the upgrade flag, so this only runs the first time
17.             ZDatabase.Write("HasUpgradedZDatabase", true);
18.         }

Error :

Code (CSharp):

1. NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
2. ZDatabase_v14.ReadEncBool (System.String fieldName)
3. ZDConvertTo15.ConvertEncBool (System.String fieldName)
4. LogicInterfacesHome.InitRaceChoice () (at Assets/_MAIN_PROJECT/_SCRIPTS/LogicInterfacesHome.cs:137)
5. LogicInterfacesHome.OpenRaceChoiceGame (UnityEngine.GameObject go) (at Assets/_MAIN_PROJECT/_SCRIPTS/LogicInterfacesHome.cs:126)
6. UIEventListener.OnClick () (at Assets/NGUI/Scripts/Internal/UIEventListener.cs:42)
7. UnityEngine.GameObject:SendMessage(String, Object, SendMessageOptions)
8. UICamera:Notify(GameObject, String, Object) (at Assets/NGUI/Scripts/UI/UICamera.cs:1079)
9. UICamera:ProcessTouch(Boolean, Boolean) (at Assets/NGUI/Scripts/UI/UICamera.cs:1851)
10. UICamera:ProcessMouse() (at Assets/NGUI/Scripts/UI/UICamera.cs:1429)

 

Looking at ZDatabase.
Hope this is not a stupid question. If a game is close on say a iPhone or Android, that is, the app is sent to the background while they answer a phone call or do something else, will the data in the database be lost when they return again?
What if the phone\device crash, or it is rebooted, will the data be lost. That is, is it save somewhere on the phone that Unity3D can then retrieve this data?

Thank you merlin in advanced, Wayne

 

Hi. I'm hoping that your ZDatabase plug-in might be the solution for a project that I am working on.

I have created a BIM (building information model) using Autodesk Revit and have imported it (via 3DS Max) into Unity 3D. Now I want users of the Unity model to be able to access information regarding building components within the model. For example, if the user wanted to know the specifications (manufacturer, model #, finish, etc) for a specific light fixture, he could click on the object and a pop-up type window would display that information.

Because the sheer volume of information for all the various building components is voluminous, it would not be practical to include the data directly in the code (I don't think). However, the information is available in a database format.

What I am hoping that I can do is link the various building components within the Unity model to the database file. When the user clicks on an object, Unity accesses the database and displays the correct and relevant information.

Would ZDatabase be helpful to me?

Thanks.

 

Hi Supergator,

Yes, ZDatabase can store the information you need for your BIM app.

The documentation details what data types can be stored. Anything not explicitly provided can either be serialized to byte array (which I recommend, since you can also compress it), or custom data types can be added.

Thanks,
Philip

 

HI! merlin!
I have a question!
Is there a way to backup data stored on ZDatabase?

 

Hi Galric,

ZDatabase uses the same data store as PlayerPrefs, so using the same methods of archiving PlayerPrefs will also archive ZDatabase.

 

Is this still alive? I notice the doc link in Asset Store is broken?
I'm looking for a DB solution for saving at the moment daily records such as text, number etc searchable by date