I have a problem that I'm not sure how to handle. In the application I am working on I will be importing fixed length strings from a CD into the database. Each specific character in the string represents some value.
I can't decide if I should just create a single field of 895 characters or create 895 single character fields. When I need data from the database I won't need all 895 characters of information, I'll only need one or a small subset of values.
Does it really matter which approach I take?
Thanks in advance for any advice/tips you can provide.
ZackIt depends on what you plan to do with the data. If you are doing a bit of manipulation of each field for each record, at random intervals, and you want to be able to quickly look up (visually) an indexed value by using enterprise manager or a spreadsheet tool.. you're probably better off making 895 fields (you might want to find a script to do this.. that would take forever in design view).
If you are doing lots of data manipulation in chunks, then just make the single field and buffer it while you adjust the values, then update. In that situation you're gonna have better performance. You will not be able to easily look up an indexed value visually by doing it this way, so you might have to make a special tool if this is important too.
Like I say, it all depends on how you plan to use the data.
Brentsql
No comments:
Post a Comment