What database should I use? I am writing a log analysis program in bash. As part of it, I am compiling a list of known errors, so that I can search and reference those errors as part of the known list. I originally was going to just write them in a .sh file and use source to reference it. Then I realised that I have hundreds of thousands of error messages and that's going to be REALLY hard to do without killing myself.

So. I want to use a small and simple database where I can store error messages, some data associated with them (bug report, who found it, how to fix it, etc.), and it has to be easily searchable. I don't feel like dealing with dynamic queries and all that jazz, I want to be able to use static queries.

I know I can use Access, Excel, and other things like that, but this is CLI Linux. There are just so many options out there that I'm a little overwhelmed as to what would be perfect for something like this. I don't even know what type of database I should use, I just want it to be lightweight and common so it can be supported after I eventually move out of my current role.

What database engine should I use?

PS: I know Python, Perl, Ruby, C (and it's variants), and pretty much anything else would be better than bash for this. My hands are tied.
All I can offer you at this point are my deepest sympathies! 

Doesn't the person/company who/which is getting you to write a tool under this mind-boggling constraint realise that you'll have to do far more work for a far lesser return than if you used (as you say) Python or Perl or even Brainfuck :-).

Anyway, what you wrote rang a very old bell in my memory cells - I remembered having read about a database system written in shell which I thought might have been interesting for, say, a student project (sort of like those C obfuscation competitions that challenge people to be clever without actually doing anything useful).

I visted Christopher Browne's linux databases site and found what I was looking for here (the kshSQL DBMS link). I was unable to find the source code for that one, but it is based on another programming effort, shql, a DBMS written in bash - it's github, so you have the source code.

The only bright spot on the horizon for you IMHO, is that it was written by Bruce Momjian who is a major player in the PostgreSQL world and knows a thing or two about databases. I've never used it, but there's just a chance that you might be able to do something with this. Good luck, you're going to need it! :-)