[MUD-Dev] Databases (was Re: Commercial-use Restrictions on Code Bases)

[Jon A. Lambert]

Charles Hughes wrote:
>
>At the risk of being slapped by a mackerel, who here really thinks they
>can do a better database design than those afforded by the likes of the
>free or commercial databases?  [I'll ask those here who've actually
>worked on these databases not to chime in. :)]
>
>It seems to me that segregating the database issues and then simply using
>a database is far better than creating a new one.  This would change
>the "databases/memory management" division above into two divisions -
>database usage, memory management.
>
>Yes? No?


It depends on what you mean by "database".   If you mean relational 
databases  (RDBMSs), then yes we can and do a lot better in terms of
performance in implementing our own mud databases.    RDMSs work 
better with batch-access patterns or operations on "sets" of data, or 
as Alexander Popeil stated, "large grain transactions".  
For instance many existing muds' database access patterns are already 
optimized for the constructs:
  
    select * from MUD_DB where id = "#162";
    update MUD_DB set name = "troll" where id = "#162";
    insert object_data into MUD_DB;

and will almost always outperform an RDMS (barring some really
shoddy construction).  

On the other hand set operations like,  
    select * from MUD_DB where type = "sword";
    update MUD_DB set damage = "2d6" 
             where type = "sword" and material = "steel";
    
will be done very well in an RDMS.  However set operations like this
are not often done in existing mud designs.  

I agree generally with your comments about partitioning a server.   
However, I view database and memory management as a single 
sub-system, rather than making an arbitrary distinction between where
the data or objects reside. I suppose it depends on how one chooses
to implement persistence. 

--
--*     Jon A. Lambert - TychoMUD Email: jlsysinc at nospam.ix.netcom.com     *--
--*     Mud Server Developer's Page <http://jlsysinc.home.netcom.com>      *--
--* "No Free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." Thomas Jefferson *--





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