There are a number of options out there. I'm not sure that I agree with the
recommendation on passing around datasets. They do have a fair amount of
bloat which you may not want if you require "fastest possible speed". There
are a number of factors to consider, including physical distance between
entities, network connection speeds, targeted platforms, etc.
Your fastest option is binary formatted remoting over TCP/IP. However, this
will only work between .Net applications and may require firewall
modifications to allow clients to access your service.
The more accepted method (SOAP) packages your data as XML inside of a
envelope (more XML) and transmits over HTTP (typically using IIS). This is a
more open standard as any platform can create and consume XML. It is human
readable as well which has it's advantages (easier to read thus easier to
program) and disadvantages (easier to read, thus harder to secure).
In between these options, there are a myrad of possibilities. I strongly
suggest you start looking at WCF (formerly code named Indigo) as it allows
switching between some of these options using command line switches. If you
are just starting a project now, you may be able to time your product's
release along with VISTA/WinFx (by all accounts before the end of the year).
I recommend you run some feasibility studies comparing the performance of
datasets compared with collections of objects. Both can be serialized using
XML. The objects can be more customized for your particular business needs
and do not incur the overhead of additional functionality you may or may not
need. As always, YMMV.
Jim Wooley
"Ben Kim" <bk**@NOSPAMemergitech.com> wrote in message
news:uL**************@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
Hello all,
I am coming from another development environment (Clarion for Windows) and
they offer a special In-Memory driver which acts just like a database
driver. What would be the appropriate replacement for such an animal
using VB.NET 2005? We are looking for the fastest possible speed, data
does not have to persist (may in some cases) and could be globally scoped
or local to the procedure. Would you choose a collection or an array to
handle this type of functionality? Can I bind this collection/array to a
data grid box?
Thanks in advance!
Ben Kim
Emergitech