Update MySQl table onDrop?

Question

Hi all. I am writing a PHP/MySQL application (using CodeIgniter) that uses some jQuery functionality for dragging table rows. I have a table in which the user can drag rows to the desired order (kind of a queue for which I need to preserve the rank of each row). I've been trying to figure out how to (and whether I should) update the database each time the user drops a row, in order to simplify the UI and avoid a "Save" button.

I have the jQuery working and can send a serialized list back to the server onDrop, but is it good design practice to run an update query this often? The table will usually have 30-40 rows max, but if the user drags row 1 far down the list, then potentially all the rows would need to be updated to update the rank field.

I've been wondering whether to send a giant query to the server, to loop through the rows in PHP and update each row with its own Update query, to send a small serialized list to a stored procedure to let the server do all the work, or perhaps a better method I haven't considered. I've read that stored procedures in MySQL are not very efficient and use a separate process for each call. Any advice as to the right solution here? Thanks very much for your help!

Answer 1

Any question that includes "The table will usually have 30-40 rows max" ends with "Do whatever you want to it." I can't imagine an operation, however frequently it's performed, that would have any appreciable performance impact on a table that tiny.

The only real question is what the visitor will be doing while your request is going to and returning from the server. Will they be locked out of making other changes? If not, make sure you have a mechanism to ensure that the most recent change is the one that's really taken effect. (It's possible for requests to reach the server out of order, and you wouldn't want an outdated request to get saved as the final state.)