XML vs MySQL - Advice Please

[mikeliketrike]

I've been working with PHP and MySQL for a number of years now and I want to find a project where it's smart for me to jump into using XML. Here's the current project that I'm beginning to work on:

There are about 300 pictures that will have 10 (or so) attributes attached to each picture describing them. The plan is to show a small number ( < 10 ) of pictures on in the beginning and then ask the user to select one or more pictures that they like. Then, display other pictures based on the selected pictures and the others in the database.

I could write a funcitonal page a day or so putting everything in a MySQL database and doing queries.

I think it'd be nice to use AJAX for this sort of thing since the page will be refreshing after each selection process, but it's not necessary, it's just a wish list item at this point.

What do you think would be quickest/most accurate for the user in this situation? Would only MySQL be sufficient? Would only XML (with PHP/SimpleXML) be sufficient? What about MySQL -> XML?

Thanks in advance,
Mike

[Weedpacket]

Relational databases (like MySQL) and XML are oriented towards different kinds of data (and are two different concepts for two different things). If you're not doing anything that XML was designed for, then there's no point using XML.

[NogDog]

As far as the storage and retrieval on the server side, a database will be much more efficient than XML. But for transmitting data between the server and client, such as for AJAX transactions, it may make sense to organize the data being exchanged into XML. (In fact, that is what the "X" in AJAX stands for, though it's not necessarily required for AJAX type applications.)

[bpat1434]

If that's all you're doing, then a database is going to be faster. Plus, you can easily add points and even other relations without having to really rework your PHP code heavily like you might have to if you use XML.

As for AJAX, you could do AJAJ which uses JSON as the go-between Server & Client rather than XML. Easier to work with a JS object sometimes than XML. Plus, in some cases, malformed XML (or one character that isn't in a PCDATA or CDATA section) can break your application.

What you'd want to use XML for is for storing news-feeds, or sending data in a prescribed format for others to use & style as they please without having them require using your classes or IDs. So if you wanted your site to be "themed" easily, you could use XML with XSLT 😉