On Mar 28, 2006, at 8:40 PM, Robert Treat wrote:
Depends on how much data you need to modify. For small tables, I
stick
with ALTER TABLE because it's a lot cleaner/easier. For larger
tables,
you might want to CREATE TABLE AS SELECT ..., or maybe copy out
and copy
back in.
This seems backwards to me. On larger tables I tend to favor alter
table for
adding/dropping columns since the table doesn't need to be
rewritten, and on
smaller tables I'd be more likely to use CTAS (although even then
still
pretty unlikely)
It depends on what exactly you're doing. For example, if you're
adding a new field and have to populate it with data, you end up
rewriting the entire table, but in a way that leads to considerable
bloat. Of course if you can get away without re-writing the entire
table you absolutely want to go that route.
--
Jim C. Nasby, Sr. Engineering Consultant jnasby@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Pervasive Software http://pervasive.com work: 512-231-6117
vcard: http://jim.nasby.net/pervasive.vcf cell: 512-569-9461
