During the meeting, the State Changers discussed three different options for linking two sources of information.
The first option mentioned was using sequential queries, where information is retrieved from one table and then used to retrieve information from another table. This option is simple and can work well for most cases, but it may not be as efficient as the other options. The second option discussed was using joins, which are powerful but can be complex and difficult to understand. The syntax for expressing joins was also deemed unintuitive. While joins can be important in some cases, they are not as commonly used as one might expect. The third option mentioned was using add-ons, which are similar to joins but act as lookups in the other database. Add-ons modify the current page of data and do not reduce the number of records retrieved. They require retrieving data about the related table after getting information about the current page. The syntax for add-ons was considered simpler and easier to use compared to joins. From a performance point of view, there may not be significant differences among these options for most applications. However, the main consideration should be the efficiency of the developer working on the project. Joins, despite their power, can be time-consuming due to their complexity. Therefore, the State Changers encouraged using the simpler model, prioritizing the ease of development over minor performance differences. Overall, the focus was on maximizing efficiency in terms of developer time rather than machine performance.
(Source: Office Hours 3/16 )
