When I was working as a website designer/engineer I primarily used databases for storage of much of my dynamic data. It was very easy and convenient to use this method and seemed like a standard practice from my research on the matter. I'm now working on shifting away from websites and into desktop applications. What are the best practices for data storage for desktop applications? I ask because I have noticed that most programs I use on a personal level don't appear to use a database for data storage unless its embedded in the program. (I'm not thinking of an application like a word processor where it makes sense to have data stored in individual files as defined by the user. Rather I'm thinking of something more along the lines of a calendar application which would need to store dates and event info and such where accessing that information would be much easier if stored in a database... at least as far as my experience would indicate.) Thanks for the input!