Question

I have to load some XML data (generated from a database, using PHP) into a flash slideshow.
The database data will change only when someone edit the website at it’s backend.

In terms of loading speed and performance, which is best:

1) Generate the XML data dynamically from the database, each time the page is loaded;

2) Generate a .XML file whenever the database is updated, which will be read by the flash file.

Answer 1

The fastest is likely

3) use Memcached

Otherwise it is likely 2 because connecting to a database is usually a bottleneck and often slower than file I/O. But then again, you could simply benchmark it to see which works best for you. That’s much better than assuming.

Also, have a look at this related question:

• File access speed vs database access speed