[MUD-Dev] Is database access a bottleneck?

[Daniel.Harman at barclayscapital.com]

From: Amanda Walker [mailto:amanda at alfar.com] 

> One of the things I learned while doing work with streaming media
> encryption was that sometimes timing is more important that
> restartability.  If you're updating a client, and something gets
> dropped, you don't roll back and reapply it--you overwrite it,
> because the previous state is now irrelevant.
 
> This is one important way in which games, and other media delivery
> systems, are unlike traditional database/transaction systems.

Only if one was originally confused by the difference between the
client/server transport layer, and the servers persistant state
layer. I don't think anyone ever has been on a big game? Hell on the
banking systems I work on, we understand that difference too
(i.e. derived pricing info versus execution capture - one doesn't go
in the DB). In fact I challenge you to find anyone who didn't grok
this point!

Frankly, I don't even agree with Dave's original assertion that
nothing is faster than a 'pre-cached flatfile'. Its only remotely
true if your data topography suits your search patterns exactly. As
soon as there is some deviation, or the working set it simply too
large to cache, a database is gonna kick your bespoke system's arse.

Frankly this is a silly debate though, as I don't think anyone is
seriously arguing that databases are a bad thing in MMOs? (appart
from the prohibitive cost of Oracle/SQL Server (not sure I'd use the
latter personally) when you want an internet connected license).

Dan
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