flat-files

[Keiichi]

i was looking through message board site and there are ones that require MySQL databases, what are the flat-files one? Are they boards that store data on text or something?

[Dan Kaplan]

Correct.[nbsp][nbsp]A flat file is basically a text file, often with a different file extension (.db, .log, etc.).

Dan

[Keiichi]

thanks :)

[jimbo]

The most popular example of this is probably UBB, which creates an HTML file for every new post.[nbsp][nbsp]With my UBB, there was a directory filled with .cgi thread files, and another directory filled with .html files.[nbsp][nbsp]Some people would argue this is better, in my opinion, for any relatively active messageboard - especially one like this that has a lot valuable information, that could very well be several years old - it is archaic.[nbsp][nbsp]Page loading speed could be argued to go either way.[nbsp][nbsp]Searching, however, is much more efficient with the messageboard programs that use MySQL, vs. those that use flat files.

-jim