Download SQLite database from Internet and load into Android application

Question

For my android application, I would like to use a large database (about 45 MB).

One solution would be to include the (splitted) database in the assets folder and cop

Answer 1

I think the JSON approach would be a better idea if your database is that large.

I'm not 100% certain, but I believe that when you release an update to your application, your device will download the entire application. If you're bundling a 45mb file with your application that would mean that every time you push an update, your users are going to be stuck with downloading a 45mb file. Not a good idea.

What you could do is include the properly structured database with no data in your application. When the user opens the application it could connect to your web server and get the JSON data to populate the database. This way when the user updates your application they won't get stuck with downloading a new large file. Updates do not wipe out existing databases.

You could even fancy things up and get parts of the database through JSON until the user has everything. This way if you're doing a monster query and they lose connection to the internet nothing too bad will happen.