[MS4W-Users] SDE workgroup vs shapefile performance thoughts

[Stephen Woodbridge]

On 12/15/2011 2:25 PM, Mark Volz wrote:
> Hello,
> We are considering using SDE workgroup as a data source for Mapserver.
> Does anyone have any comments about the performance or usability of SDE
> Workgroup compared to shapefiles?

Mark,

In general, shapefiles are the fastest method of accessing data. 
Obviously, there are exceptions to this. In some database applications 
that have good spatial filtering or relational filtering depend on your 
specific use case, you will find some advantages of shapefiles.

In an ideal world you would want to open a shapefile and read all the 
data from that shapefile and be done. In this model it is fastest. 
Typically there are overhead cost to making a connection and these can 
be significant in some cases. Using fast-cgi and CONNECTION_CLOSE=DEFER 
in the layer will help mitigate these costs.

HTH,
   -Steve W