Tom,
For a start, this is off-topic, and you also cross-posted - please don't do so.
Have a look at this article: http://dev.mysql.com/tech-resources/articles/intro-to-normalization.html
I prefer simpler tables, so I would use the structure you have suggested, with the possible addition of a date field and a field to indicate the source of the ranking.
With the proper use of indexes, the fetching of results is extremely fast; you don't have to worry about table size. Figure out the questions you have to ask of the information, and then decide what inputs you need to answer them.
Regards - Miles Thompson
At 07:53 AM 6/30/2004, Tom Chubb wrote:
Please can someone let me know their opinion on the following:
I have written some code for submitting a top 20 music chart online. I use the following to insert into mysql:
INSERT INTO chart (name, chartpos, artist, title, label) VALUES
('$name', '1', '$artist', '$title', '$label'), ('$name', '2', '$artist2', '$title2', '$label2'), ('$name', '3', '$artist3', '$title3', '$label3'),
-------------- repeat til -----------------
('$name', '20', '$artist20', '$title20', '$label20'),
Another page queries the table and sorts by name (multiple people submit charts) and latest date.
My question is this: Would I be better keeping this format and inserting multiple rows on each submit, or to have one row for all 81 variables ($name, 20 x Position, 20 x Artists, 20 x Titles, 20 x Labels.) I know that the latter will be easier to query.
Also, without maintenance, the size of the table for the current method will get extremely large. Will that affect server performance?
I am still a newbie, so plain explanations would be most appreciated.
Thanks very much in advance.
Tom
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