Question

I have an android application that allows users to upload images to their account. Im storing the images as longblob files in a mysql db and pulling them from that but I have read on here and other places that its more efficient to store your images in a file system. I know it will work for my alpha to show but its already sucking up space in the db.

Ive seen plenty of people on here and other places mentioning file systems over using a db however….no one makes any references to specific file system software or set ups. Ideally I need a system that would allow for the fastest retrieval of images from it and it has to work with a query from php.

Any tips on the matter would be awesome 🙂

Answer 1

You could store the images on the file system, and use the database to keep a file-pointer, which is simply the path to the location of the image on your system. Then, use a query to fetch the location, and use that as you would for any image.

This thread on DaniWeb shows how uploads could be handled:

http://www.daniweb.com/web-development/php/threads/162230

Also, use relative paths in case you wish to move the location of the images in the future, as mentioned in the chosen answer here:

When storing Images in the File System, Use relative paths or absolute paths?