Database or Markdown? What scales better for collectibles inventory?

[Farrgazer]

I want to create a database of different collectibles I have in my possession. I want to log dates of purchase, where I bought it, information about the collectible, photos, among other things.

I've downloaded a demo of TapForms to try that out, and in the meantime, I also attempted to create a database in DEVONThink Pro (I already had this app to begin with, so why not?)

The approach was different, but the end result was more or less the same. With TapForms, I took the default "home inventory" template and came up with the entries I wanted to fill in. With DEVONThink, I created a Markdown template with the same fields.

My question is, which would scale better in the long term?

 

[sracer]

I want to create a database of different collectibles I have in my possession. I want to log dates of purchase, where I bought it, information about the collectible, photos, among other things.

I've downloaded a demo of TapForms to try that out, and in the meantime, I also attempted to create a database in DEVONThink Pro (I already had this app to begin with, so why not?)

The approach was different, but the end result was more or less the same. With TapForms, I took the default "home inventory" template and came up with the entries I wanted to fill in. With DEVONThink, I created a Markdown template with the same fields.

My question is, which would scale better in the long term?

For long-term data, I prefer "open" file formats. Using proprietary formats requires one to trust the software developer to maintain the software and provide recovery utilities should the data file become corrupted. And when the software is not cross-platform it requires me to stay with that platform.

I have data files that are upwards of 35 years old and with minimal maintenance they've gone with me over the decades to different platforms and software.

But between TapForms and DEVONThink, I'd lean toward DEVONThink because they've been around much longer.... though TapForms gets bonus points for Bento support.