Row based vs Column based configuration table - pro vs cons ? - Knowledgebase

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Row based vs Column based configuration table - pro vs cons ?

Posted by OpenInternet-Vince, 03-02-2010, 07:03 PM
Planning for a new application and was wondering the pros and cons for row based configuration table and a column based configuration table in mysql. I've been using column based configuration for my last few applications and I don't see any cons to it other than the initial row may become very long horizontally when doing a SELECT * So is there a significant performance, usability issue when it comes down to row vs column ?
Posted by larwilliams, 03-02-2010, 07:51 PM
Unless you have a huge table, I doubt either choice would be much different in real world performance. Personally, I prefer to have one row per setting and the columns being "settingname" and "settingvalue". It just seems more organized to me.
Posted by HivelocityDD, 03-03-2010, 12:01 PM
I agree with the above comment. If you are using multiple rows for each settings it will be more orgamized. Another advantage is you can have many attributes for a setting other than name and value. Say id, name, value, status, position etc. When it comes to a DB driven CMS or some thing
Posted by TheSimpleHost-Nathan, 03-03-2010, 12:36 PM
Plus you can add a new row into the table without altering the table itself.
Posted by OpenInternet-Vince, 03-03-2010, 06:27 PM
Thanks for the replies. After much thought about it, I think the biggest advantage is having able to add in settings without altering the table.