spragueg — Wed, 21 Mar 2001 21:57:04 +0000

Just found out my ISP does not support DBs of any kind. So I think I might try it with 1 flat file per thread and limit searches to single topics. I could also retire treads after 6 months or so. I am doing for fun/learning. Maybe if I get alot of hits I could convert it to use mySQL later and I could pour the flat files into mySQL.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Of Databases...

japhy — Wed, 21 Mar 2001 19:18:25 +0000

A bulletin board system is only as good as the database backing it up. Flatfiles are destined for doom. SQL is a far wiser choice, especially for searching.

I strongly recommend using a language that provides a simple interface to an SQL database. Perl, for instance, has the DBI module, which allows you to access practically any kind of SQL (and some non-SQL) databases with the same generic interface.

Mark Hensler — Wed, 21 Mar 2001 17:49:30 +0000

Perl forums are not all that great. Compair UBB to vBulletin. UBB is written in Perl, and uses a flat file storage system. vBulleting is written in PHP and uses a mySQL storage system. vBulleting is much faster.

Also, if you use on file per whatever, you'll just increase the system load for searches. Because you'll have to open each file, seach it, and close it. Having many files storing your content may increase your spead for viewing threads (if done right).

My recommendation is to use PHP with mySQL (if your server can supports it).