Which is faster? Record selection or manipulation? 1

[ebutter]

V10
Reporting off XML data with ADO.NET driver

I'm often faced with choosing between a record selection formula placed with the Select Expert, or manipulating the appearance of a report with a formula once records are returned. Which is faster?

For instance:

Assets Grouped by Owner
Asset Name
Subtotal
Total

Say there is an Asset Type called Disability Insurance that I do not want to display. I can eliminate it either way. How do I understand which is better and why?

Thanks!

 

[lbass]

It is faster to limit records in your selection formula. If you write the formula correctly, the selection will be incorporated into your SQL statement and be processed on the server, rather than locally. You can check what is being passed to the server by seeing what appears in Database->Show SQL Query. Using formulas once records are returned would be slower since this would occur locally--after all records are returned.

-LB