Is There Any Way To Use A Pre-existing Database From Xamarin Without Copying It From Assets?

I have a rather large SQLite database (~20 mb) I need to access from my Android Xamarin-Forms app. Everything online I've read says you can read the database by copying it to the f

Solution 1:

You don't want to use it from assets, even if you could, because assets is a compressed read only file, part of your installation. You can't write updates into it, which kills 90% of database use. And its inefficient for reading as its zipped up. So you really do need to copy it. If you're worried about disk space, consider downloading it from the web rather than keeping it in your apk.