Question

Temp table VS Table Variable

Asked by: KaranGupta

Which one is quicker

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Asked On
2009-11-02 at 02:39:16ID24863186
Topics

SQL Server 2005

,

SQL Server 2008

,

MS SQL Server

Participating Experts
4
Points
500
Comments
5

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Answers

 

by: aymoon80Posted on 2009-11-02 at 03:03:21ID: 25718417

As my knolwdge I think Table Variable is faster because it is only allocated in memory but Temp table required I/O operations becuase it is created on the database on the physical drive

 

by: emoreauPosted on 2009-11-02 at 04:42:14ID: 25718817

It always varies according to your scenario.

In general, for small tables, Table variables are faster.

But if you stock large chunks and you want to index them, then Temp table is your best bet.

 

by: rrjegan17Posted on 2009-11-02 at 05:16:47ID: 25718990

It depends:

http://www.sql-server-performance.com/articles/per/temp_tables_vs_variables_p1.aspx

Thumb rule: Temp Variable will suffer in performance for huge data as everything needs to be in cache compared to Temp table.

"If you need a temporary table in your Transact-SQL code, consider using a table variable instead of creating a conventional temporary table instead. Table variables are created and manipulated in memory instead of the tempdb database, making them much faster in some cases. But not in all cases. Because of this, you will need to test both options to determine which works best for you under your particular circumstances.

In addition, table variables found in stored procedures result in fewer compilations (than when using temporary tables), and transactions using table variables only last as long as the duration of an update on the table variable, requiring less locking and logging resources. "

Reference from:

http://www.sql-server-performance.com/tips/temp_table_tuning_p1.aspx

P.S: These parameters depends upon your tempdb contention and your tempdb files..
Hence test once before implementing any..

 

by: aneeshattingalPosted on 2009-11-02 at 08:09:20ID: 25720637

Hello KaranGupta,
>As my knolwdge I think Table Variable is faster because it is only allocated in memory
thats not true, it wont store the data in memory both of them uttolise space on tempdb

as far as your question is concerned i agree with the posts of emoreau  and Jegan, It depends on the scenario, as a thump of rule if the no of entries to store is less than 10000, go for table variable, else use temptable,  while using the temp table, you can create the index (if any needed) after populating the data


Regards,

Aneesh

 

by: aymoon80Posted on 2009-11-02 at 23:05:20ID: 25726593

aneeshattingal:
you are right it is stored on tempdb
For a little comparison check this article
http://databases.aspfaq.com/database/should-i-use-a-temp-table-or-a-table-variable.html

Thanks

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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