Best way to Delete/Create Tables in Acc2K

[Tony]

Hi All,

I've got a small database that holds some Access tables, links to external
tables, and some queries. The queries are to be run on a nightly basis via
a vbs script. The queries repopulate the native Access tables (by
overwriting them) with data from the linked tables. The script/queries run
for ~ 3 minutes. What I'm wondering is: is it more efficient to run queries
to delete the existing Access tables before recreating them, or is it better
to simply let the queries overwrite them?

Any suggestions?

Thanks & Ciao

 

[Graham R Seach]

Tony,

Do the table structures change for each load?

If not, then I'd advise against dropping then re-creating the tables each
time, because this results in file bloat. I'd suggest doing a destructive
load - delete the data, then reload, but leaving the tables in place.

If the table structures do change, then it is more efficient to re-create
them using DDL, than it is to create the tables with a SELECT INTO query.
The SELECT INTO construct can (and often does) result in data typing
problems.

Regards,
Graham R Seach
Microsoft Access MVP
Sydney, Australia