SQL Server vs. Datatables

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Hello,
I am planning a solution for a process that manipulates around 8000 records. I am considering having an additional SQL server or using data tables filters to manipulate the data. Which option is recommended?

Thanks,

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Hi
Welcome to uipath community
For 8000 records Datatable is very easy to use and is more robust as well

Only when it goes in lakhs of records we can take a chance to think about provisioning the database instead of excel or datatable

Cheers @Milgo

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Hello @Milgo, and welcome to the community

If the question is which option is easier between manipulating data in SQL Server or dataTables from uipath, the recommendation will be using dataTables in UiPath since there are native activities to manipulate them (the filter activity to select data from them or you can use linq queries to process more personalized selections).

While for SQL Server you need to install the package first (which is fairly straightforward from the manage packages), set up the ODBC connection and then use UiPath activities with the SQL Queries that you will need.

So from a perspective of record size (8000 records) dataTables are going to be fine , but if you already have a backgound in SQL and you want to create a fast process it might be easier to use the database.

Hope it helps,
Reda

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Well to be honest, having the data pull off an excel or SQL DB, you will have to use DataTables anyway to work with the data in UiPath… 8k rows is not a lot for a datatable, BUT be carefull when you put a lot of activities in a for each row…

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Hello @Milgo

I would give some thoughts around the task that needs to be done first rather than focusing on the datatable or the database. So you say that you have around 8000 records. Think what you have to do with these 8000 records. Do you need to take each record and do some processing? So basically you will be processing all 8000 records?

How big is the processing of each record? Usually how much time would you think that will take to complete one iteration?

Are there any filtering or any other manipulations needed to these 8000 records?

Depending on the answer you get, decide which option to use. However, if we consider the problem as a whole, using datatable is totally fine considering the number of records. 8000 rows can be easily handled. But just make sure how much time it takes to complete one record if you are planning to loop through these records.

Also, if you use a database, you could do the filtering and other manipulations in the database itself so that some level of processing can be bassed into the database itself which can make the processing much faster than doing it in datatables through UiPath.

It depends on the requirement and the task that you are planning to do… Let know if you need more thoughts around this…