Discussion and considerations

Relational databases provide an effective and readily available means to store data. Once established, they normally behave consistently and reliably, making them easier to use than file systems. And clearly a database can do much more than a simple file system!

Efficiency can quickly become an issue, both in relation to how often requests are made to a database, and how long queries take. One way to offset the cost of database queries is to use a cache at some stage in the processing. Using a cache is a technique that crops up frequently in this book, and is detailed in Chapter 6,

Whatever the framework does, a major factor will always be the care developers of extensions take over the design of table structures and software; the construction of SQL can also make a big difference. Examples included here have been assiduously optimized so far as the author is capable, although suggestions for further improvement are always welcome!

Web applications are typically...