RE: db engines VS flat files

From: <tday6_at_csc.com>
Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2001 12:31:02 -0700
Message-ID: <F001.003888E9.20010910121518@fatcity.com>

IRS used to use flat files on IBM mainframes circa 1992. Don't know if their "Modernization" effort ever succeeded. They were trying to move it to Oracle 7 running on NCR Pentium 60's. Don't ask why. There was a Congressional inquiry.

One point that should be made. When you move data from flat files to an Oracle database you do not gain any space efficiency. In fact, depending on the indexing, you can take twice as much space. Oracle's advantage is that in Oracle the data is being managed. In a flat file there is no data integrity, no relational integrity, no auditing. All of these things are available in Oracle.

                    Christopher                                                        
    
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Huh? Doesn't the irs use flat files? :)

"Do not criticize someone until you walked a mile in their shoes, that way when you criticize them, you are a mile a way and have their shoes."

Christopher R. Spence
Oracle DBA
Phone: (978) 322-5744
Fax: (707) 885-2275

Fuelspot
73 Princeton Street
North, Chelmsford 01863

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Monday, September 10, 2001 10:40 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L

In addition to Greg's comments I would like to add that anyone suggesting flat files for 50 gig of data is probably not at all familiar with database technology.

Perl is an excellent language for manipulating data, but it is not a database engine. 50 gigs of data is totally unmanagable as flat
files.

Personally, were someone to suggest that to me I would have to bite my tongue to contain the laughter.

At the very least, something like MySQL should be used.

For a look at what is available in the way or database interfaces for Perl, have a look at:

http://search.cpan.org/Catalog/Database_Interfaces/

Jared

On Sunday 09 September 2001 12:40, agc wrote:
> I would like to know your opinion about the developments under for
> example perl for handling large amounts of datas (sets of flats files
> larger than 50 gigs) vs the option of using oracle for exmaple for
> doing the same task, wich would be more eficinet? why? cheers
>
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Received on Mon Sep 10 2001 - 14:31:02 CDT