I have no scientific evidence to back me up, but I would use the second "list" method in the query. I would think that the optimizers would handle a list better than multiple ORs. Also, it's easier to read.
If you have control over the structure of the database, you may be better off changing the structure from having multiple columns (instructor1id, instructor2id, etc), to a separate table for instructor enrollments. Typically, a course management system would have the following tables: Courses ------- course id course name Users ----- user id user name Enrollment ---------- course id user id role M!ke -----Original Message----- From: Will Tomlinson [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, October 20, 2007 9:31 PM To: CF-Talk Subject: Which query would be better? MySQL 5. Which would be the better choice for a report table. I'm concerned and want the query to run as fast as possible because there could end up being millions of records in it. I could add the number of fields I need (not worried about the flattening of this table and lack of normalization). Instructor1, instructor2, 3, 4, etc. Then query like this: AND (e2.instructor1id = <cfqueryparam value="#ARGUMENTS.instructor#"> OR e2.instructor2id = <cfqueryparam value="#ARGUMENTS.instructor#"> OR e2.instructor3id = <cfqueryparam value="#ARGUMENTS.instructor#"> ) OR ... I could easily create a list of values, then use the IN keyword: AND someotherfield IN (<cfqueryparam value="#ARGUMENTS.somevaluelist#" list="yes">) Thanks, Will ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Enterprise web applications, build robust, secure scalable apps today - Try it now ColdFusion Today ColdFusion 8 beta - Build next generation apps Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Talk/message.cfm/messageid:291686 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Talk/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.4
