Database for Google App Engine and desktop application

Question

I need some advice. I'm new to Java EE technologies. Anyway, I would like to make my first JAVA EE project. Imagine 2 client applications and server application.

1) Server. I picked up Google App Enginge technology to create server application. I would like to connect it to some easy database.

2) Client applications. I would like them to be desktop applications (or applications launched from the desktop) and these 2 apps also have to be connected to the same database as sever.

There was no problem to create this in Java SE environment - I had two clients applications with sockets staff and server application with socket staff. All worked locally.

But now I want to have server and database on the Internet and I want to make it in more professional way.

My problems are:

• How to create free database from GAE? Is datastore the best option or something else? What's important - the client desktop application will also use this database. I'm looking for the easiest solution.
• Maybe the solution is to create web client application instead of the desktop one - but make it look like it was desktop app (I would like to avoid using browser). I have no idea how to do this and if this is even possible.

Any help will be really appreciated. I'm stuck because my knowledge is too little to start. I have ma GAE app and I don't know what should I choose next.

Thank you in advance.

Answer 1

If you want make desktop application, you need to build backend application first.

check this out. You can use same concept with that. Build back end, and then create API to connect to your backend, and use that API in your desktop application.

Datastore is easiest way to store data. Check this out . Datastore have some limitation (such as didnt support join, many to many relationship, etc). Please consider wisely. Otherwise you can use Google Cloud SQL for your option, but AFAIK its not free.