Re: Question for Microsoft guys

Tech-Archive recommends: Repair Windows Errors & Optimize Windows Performance

From: Steve Kass (skass_at_drew.edu)
Date: 02/16/04


Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2004 16:37:35 -0500

Tim,

  I'm not sure what you mean by "send to client a buffer," but there's
no question that for some operations, flat files and utilities like Unix
grep are faster than databases. But the purpose of an RDBMS is to store
and retrieve data in a managed way, providing security, integrity,
logging, concurrency management and many other benefits. If you don't
care about any of those, you might not need an RDBMS. Your clients
might also then take what you send with a grain of salt.

  But the operation you describe, selecting one or more rows, should be
faster with a well-designed database than with a file system. But a
table with 500 columns suggests that you aren't working with a
well-designed database, and you may not be able to use indexes to make
things efficient.

  If you give some idea of what kind of SELECT query you are working
with, and what your table looks like (we probably don't need to see all
500 columns), maybe we can be more helpful.

SK

Tim Xox wrote:

>Hi guys,
>My SQL program trying to compete with flat file system
>Just to select one or more rows from table with 500 columns ( total length
>of brow is about 3K) .
>Flat file system is much faster and I think if I had possibility to send to
>client a buffer with selected rows instead of recordset it would be much
>faster.
>Is it possible somehow to do it on SQL Server?
>Thanks.
>TIm.
>
>
>
>



Relevant Pages

  • Re: Need Help deleting record from text file
    ... In many circumstances retrieval of data from a "home grown" data file will actually be faster than from a general purpose commercial database. ... save his data to disk using a "flat file" unindexed arrangement. ... In fact I never mentioned him saving his data to disk in any format at all. ... Admittedly a nice "ready made" database does make it relatively easy for people to store and retrieve data fairly rapidly without needing to write too much code or to worry about the methods used by the "black box" to perform such feats, and I certainly would not suggest that they should not be used, but I think that for many tasks a "home grown" data format would be as good as, and in some cases better than, a standard database. ...
    (microsoft.public.vb.general.discussion)
  • Re: Just say no to threads [Was: Software architecture]
    ... they knew there was going to be a database in the app. ... Now my colleague just spent a couple/three weeks designing an SQL ... Turns out they have a flat file of sample information, ...
    (comp.object)
  • RE: Cisco LEAP
    ... aren't meant to work this way; that's largely why database applications work ... For that, sure, a flat file is faster. ... Network with over 10,000 of the brightest minds in information security ... most highly-anticipated industry event of the year. ...
    (Pen-Test)
  • Re: Portugal and Azores Ceres question
    ... is the advantage of Access over a flat file ... I cannot see a stamp database requiring a deeper platform. ... Why risk the typos and the time to query a table like that? ... The report generator in Access is a 2 pass processor. ...
    (rec.collecting.stamps.discuss)
  • Re: Portugal and Azores Ceres question
    ... is the advantage of Access over a flat file database? ... Why risk the typos and the time to query a table like that? ... The report generator in Access is a 2 pass processor. ...
    (rec.collecting.stamps.discuss)