The design of the database is one of the key ingredients to a successful implementation. The other is the design of the application part. We will cover both, sometimes together as they are interrelated. For applications running on a website performance is typically a major concern. Users are not patient, and you probably want to make efficient use of your hardware. A second concern is how to write a maintainable application as efficiently as possible, which we will also cover.

When discussing performance we will mostly consider a couple of principles behind improving performance. The first is to do work once when possible, and then use the results many times. The second involves doing the work that is needed as efficiently as possible. Some methods we will use to avoid repeating the same work over and over again include denormalizing, pre-building pages, and caching answers. Methods to improve the efficiency of the work include having the appropriate indices, designing the query appropriately and choosing the correct functions in Texis.

We will also cover some of the basics of Texis and Vortex, which will serve as a refresher for many people, but may bring some previously unnoticed things to light, or possibly prompt a few questions. Hopefully if you are in the camp of people who are modifying scripts you can gain a clearer understanding of the big picture.

Often there will be several possible ways of accomplishing a task, and the goal will be to choose the best method. Many times you will find features in Vortex or Texis specifically designed for the task, in which case you should use that method. There may be new features that you aren't aware of, which will allow for simplification of some tasks you are currently doing.