How to store data when SQL sucks

Is SQLite the only option for data storage in a cross-platform desktop app? WTF?

SQL is such a broken leaky abstraction and most NoSQL stuff is even worse (JSON for queries? Seriously?). Either way though none of that helps desktop apps unless you want to manage a separate database process.

I'm tempted to write my own B+tree impl but that's like a pain in the ass. Where is libpersistent-data-structures that I can drop into my project?

The SQL part of SQLite is a minor nit, you get in exchange relational'ish data access, plausible ACID properties, the most liberal license ever available, well tested and documented ANSI C code and drh's holy blessing. In a C program it effectively becomes like a scripting language. What are you looking for in particular? What are you willing to take out and what you need to keep? You could use something like cdb I guess.

>>7 http://www.sqlite.org/queryplanner.html

NoSQL stuff are for the most part glorified key value stores that are sprouting out of nowhere because the ORM shit in rails doesn't mesh with anything in reality. I'd make an exception for some like CouchDB, which sports a sync feature for disconnected operation, I'd like to check that out some day.