For an assignment at my college, we need to know what the difference is between mdf files and server based in SQL Server.
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For an assignment at my college, we need to know what the difference is between mdf files and server based in SQL Server.
It’s basically the same – the point is more how you approach the data:
in “server-based” storage as you put it, your application is talking to the server and a “logical” database name – the application has no knowledge of what file(s) make up that database, and where they are stored – or any of those implementation details – and the application shouldn’t have to know! A DBA can also split up your data into a .MDF file and a whole set of .NDF (secondary data files) files – so just a single .MDF doesn’t necessarily make up the entire SQL Server database!
when using SQL Server Express, you can also attach a .MDF file directly – which is in my opinion a bad choice and a messy affair. SQL Server Express will then create a user-instance for you, in the background, and temporarily attach the MDF file to the SQL Server and use it. In this case, your application must know the exact location and name of the .MDF file to use – and this “locks down” the database to be just that one single .MDF file – it cannot the split up and optimized by a DBA.