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If my table has a huge number of columns (over 80) should I split it into several tables with a 1-to-1 relationship or just keep it as it is? Why? My main concern is performance.
PS – my table is already in 3rd normal form.
PS2 – I am using MS Sql Server 2008.
PS3 – I do not need to access all table data at once, but rather have 3 different categories of data within that table, which I access separately. It is something like: member preferences, member account, member profile.
80 columns really isn’t that many…
I wouldn’t worry about it from a performance standpoint. Having a single table (if you’re typically using all of the data in your standard operations) will probably outperform multiple tables with 1-1 relationships, especially if you’re indexing appropriately.
I would worry about this (potentially) from a maintenance standpoint, though. The more columns of data in a single table, the less understandable the role of that table in your grand scheme becomes. Also, if you’re typically only using a small subset of the data, and all 80 columns are not always required, splitting into 2+ tables might help performance.