> They will generate a comparable amount of garbage, but I think updating the
> existing records is better than delete + insert, especially if there are also
> foreign key references to those records.
I don't think so.
Unless you are updating every column in the row, the UPDATE will generate a
smaller disk footprint, as the new record version will only include the updated
fields -- not a full copy of the row.
Then there is the impact on index structures that Vlad has pointed out.
From a performance point of view, it would be *much faster*, if you are able to:
- disable all indexes for the target table,
- delete all rows,
- import new rows and
- reactivate all indexes for the target table
This would likely require that you have near-exclusive access/use of the target
table.
Sean
