In
computer programming
Computer programming is the process of performing a particular computation (or more generally, accomplishing a specific computing result), usually by designing and building an executable computer program. Programming involves tasks such as ana ...
, Database-as-IPC may be considered an
anti-pattern where a disk persisted table in a database is used as the message queue store for routine
interprocess communication or subscribed data processing. If database performance is of concern, alternatives include
sockets,
network socket
A network socket is a software structure within a network node of a computer network that serves as an endpoint for sending and receiving data across the network. The structure and properties of a socket are defined by an application programming ...
, or
message queue.
British
computer scientist
A computer scientist is a person who is trained in the academic study of computer science.
Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation, as opposed to the hardware side on which computer engineers mainly focus (al ...
,
Junade Ali
Junade Ali is a British computer scientist known for research in cybersecurity.CEng registration number ''673221''. https://www.engc.org.uk/regcheck
Ali studied for a Master of Science degree aged 17 and was awarded Chartered Engineer status b ...
, defined the Database-as-IPC Anti-Pattern as using a database to "schedule jobs or queue up tasks to be completed", noting that this anti-pattern centres around using a database for temporary messages instead of persistent data.
Controversy
The issue arises if there is a performance issue, and if additional systems (and servers) can be justified. In terms of performance, recent advancements in database systems provide more efficient mechanisms for signaling and messaging, and database systems also support memory (non-persisted) tables.
There are databases with built-in notification mechanisms, such as Postgres, SQL Server, and Oracle. These mechanisms and future improvements of database systems can make queuing much more efficient and avoid the need to set up a separate signaling or messaging queue system along with the server and management overhead.
While MySQL doesn't have direct support for notifications, some workarounds are possible. However, they would be seen as non-standard and therefore more difficult to maintain.
5 subtle ways you’re using MySQL as a queue, and why it’ll bite you
Schwartz, Baron. 2011 September 14.
See also
* Inbox and outbox pattern
References
Anti-patterns
Databases
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