Question:
What is the best (fastest) method to add records to a SQL 7 database using VB and ADO? I am currently using the recordset methods and it could take days to load my data. Note that the data is not coming from a source that Import can use. (I will also need to add records on a regular basis.)
Answer:
The methods of choice for moving data into SQL 7 are all part of DTS, the Data Transformation Services. There are Active Script Tasks, Data Driven Query Tasks, the Data Pump, and Bulk Inserts available. In fact, there are other transformations available that move whole databases (in effect replacing the old Transfer Manager from 6.x), but you don’t need to go there (yet).
What you need to know is that DTS is a logarithmic improvement over BCP. It can work as a row-at-a-time translator (Data Driven Query is a little slow, but has lots of flexibility) or do tables wholesale (Data Pump is very fast, but is not so flexible), depending on what you need to beat your data into submission.
