yogiyang007 wrote:

> Hello everyone,
>
> I am trying to create a software in which all the documentations that
> are generated in our organization should be stored.
>
> For this I have created a BLOB type field also.
>
> Now my problem is that the data that I want to store in this BLOB
> field consists of a variety of files which are .DOC, .TIF, .JPG, .RTF,
> .TGA, .PDF, .XLS, .PNG, .DWG, .DXF. The average file size is around 23
> MB and there are currently 300 files.
>
> How can I store these files in the BLOB field?
>
> Is it advisable to store such huge binary data in FireBird? If yes
> what strategy should I use here?
>
> Can FB handel such huge binary data effeceintly?
>
> Please advise on this.

1.
As Martijn has noted, have an extra field for holding file format.
2.
Often, having files in a blob field is a very good solution (good
access control, transaction control). At other times it is a good
thing to use files (easier backup)
3.
"Can Firebird handle such huge binary data efficiently?"
Well. I currently have a few million images (in tiff) in files with
references/pointers (server/folder/filename) in the database. The
files/folders are organized in different ways because of the source
system for the images - which is a pain. Now, I intend to move them
all into one single database. Estimated size will be around
250GB. Looking forward to having the new disks installed in a SAN,
and getting ready to move the image files into the
blobs. Preliminary tests did not reveal any problems with loading
the db, backup/restore of the db, or retrieving data.

There should be a thread on this in this NG starting in the beginning
of May (06.05.2007?) - look for "Database for images".


--
Aage J.