Can You Filter a Database with a Flat File CMS? And How Do I Stop People From Stealing my Data?

[propipper]

I have an upcoming project that I'm starting from scratch and I started to explore flat file CMS's. I'm not a developer by any means so looking to see if a flat file CMS would work for this project or just go with a traditional database type CMS application.

Looking to get some help/feedback about going with a flat file CMS:

1) Can you set up filtering? For example, let's just say the user is looking for a certain type of restaurant in the US. The user would need to be able to filter the following criteria: a) which state (example: New York), b) which city (example: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Rochester, etc) c) what type of food (example: Italian, Greek, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, American, etc).

Is this type of filtering possible?

2) Is there a way for a user (or competitor) to download my flat file database with all the information I've added. There will be hundreds (if not thousands) of entries/results and it will take me some time (and money) to build this database so I don't want someone to easily be able to steal it.

Again, I know a little code but would probably use a flat file CMS (such as Pico) so I can get this project off the ground quicker than trying to code everything myself.

 

[BCN]

Just generate the files from a database, and also make a small script to spit out an API of the items. Then you can get the best of both worlds. Statically rendered pages for stuff that "never" changes, and dynamic content via API you can manipulate on the frontend with any flavour of JS frameworks that can be added to static files as it runs in the client.

You will also have the benefits of integrity and relations from the DB.

Just make a small postgres DB. Then generate flatfiles, and then python or node (or AWS lambda) to give you API endpoints for filters with stuff like

[
{
    "ID" => 1,
    "title" => "Juicy content",
    "description" => "Juicy description",
    "url" => "/clickbait-me"
},
[...]
]

I made something like this once.

 

[Ryuzaki]

@propipper, if they want to steal your data, they'll be able to do it without the database. They can scrape with xpath and regex and slurp it right on up. The only defense really is offense later, suing and getting them shut down for copyright infringement. Even if your data isn't unique, the presentation and organization of it is. You can leave some secret errors in there to catch people, like putting some erroneous nonsense in there like changing a city name to "Hamburger, PA" around multiple instances with different names. That kind of stuff will help you prove they ripped you off later.

But typically no. You'd be generating flat file HTML documents and only uploading those to your server, not the database you "ad-lib'd" out of.

 

[propipper]

Thank you for your help @BCN and @Ryuzaki.

I like the idea of leaving small "mistakes" to prove that the information was mine. I didn't realize how easy it was to take other people's data.

Thanks again for your help.