Ruby: To create a string cache that is faster: Array or SQL?

Question

I am making a ruby ​​server with a cache of information about online clients. This information should be retained when the server shuts down. I can save it in a simple array and save it using Marshal, or I can use an SQL database (possibly MySQL). Which is better to use? I think the Array method is simple, but SQL is faster than? Thank!

Answer 1

In fact, I would expect a serialized array to be significantly faster, since no indexing or extra row distribution is required. I think it all depends on whether you want to be able to fulfill requests for this information. If not, you do not need a database, you just need perseverance. You can also write the cache to a file.

Answer 2

It depends on scalability requirements. If you expect thousands of records, you should use SQL or another database, although this does impose developer overhead. However, if you are dealing with a small number, you can get by simply serializing the objects and saving them to disk.