Hi Peter -- > > The morale of the story: Flat files rock! ;-) > > If I'm using Apache::DBI so I have a persistent connection to MySQL, > would it not be faster to simply use a table in MySQL?
Unlikely. Even with cached database connections you are probably not going to beat the performance of going to a flat text file. Accessing files is something the OS is optimized to do. The process of issuing a SQL query, having it parsed and retrieving results is probably more time-consuming than you think. One way to think about it is this: MySQL stores its data in files. There are many layers of code between DBI and those files, each of which add processing time. Going directly to files is far less code, and less code is most often faster code. The best way to be cure is to benchmark the difference yourself. Try out the Benchmark module. Quantitative data trumps anecdotal data every time. Warmest regards, -Jesse- -- Jesse Erlbaum The Erlbaum Group [EMAIL PROTECTED] Phone: 212-684-6161 Fax: 212-684-6226
