I think getting rid of BDB is a great idea.
It would make OpenCOBOL more commercially viable
to implement this interface:
Microfocus allows their users to replace their
file handler by implementing to that specification.
Fujitsu and COBOL-IT implemented the same
interface for the compilers they sell.
My implementing that interface, it would make it
easier for people to port from those compilers to OpenCOBOL.
I have implemented a couple of file handlers that
"plug in" to microfocus. Their system works well.
Note: I am giving credit to microfocus for
inventing this interface, but I have the feeling it was
invented somewhere else.
The implementation would go something like this:
1) Implement EXTFH interface in OpenCOBOL.
2) Implement EXTFH wrapping BDB.
as this point existing user could continue to use
the BDB data, but have the flexibility to add new EXTFH that
access data in other backends.
I had one of my programmers replace BDB in
OpenCOBOL so I could be compatible with MicroFocus as part of
my OpenKicks framework. It would make a good starting point
for this effort. We basically wrote a library with same
interface as BDB and linked it into OpenCOBOL. Don't get your
hopes up that it will be very useful for this effort.