I agree with Peter 100% on this. Currently I am working on a project that describes exactly what you wrote. I have a WinForm application accessing the database through a WebService. We've ran a couple of tests regarding data retrieval natively from WinForms and through the WebService and while the WebService was slower (by a few milliseconds) you don't really notice the slow down in your application; however Peter is right; it also comes down to what else the WebService will be doing. Will it only retrieve the data from the database for you or will it manipulate that data also ? I work in the financial sector and I've seen quite a few trading system that user WebServices for partial or complete data access because A) WebServices are fairly easy to develop and maintain and B) no additional ports need to be opened up (big banks are more willing to work with you more if there are no port open requests coming from you). And while putting a SQL Server on the Internet can be a risk it all depends on how you set it up. If your resident SQL expert is really good he/she can lock it down tight; however it is very rare that companies leave a SQL database open on the net for clients to access, the preferred way to go is access through a WebService.
-Pete On 4/17/07, Peter Ritchie < [EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Adding a web service intermediary between an application and SQL Server is always going to be slower. How much slower depends on how the web service was written, unless the web service does some sort of value-added processing (like being an entity broker or something) or caching. There's nothing less secure about putting a SQL Server on the Internet. The communication can be on port 80 and can also be encrypted and can use integrated Windows authentication. The only difference is that it's interface isn't proprietary like a web service. =================================== This list is hosted by DevelopMentor(r) http://www.develop.com View archives and manage your subscription(s) at http://discuss.develop.com
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