Introduction to storing data

Storing data is often a very simple concept, but you are constantly in a battle between speed and usability. You have to have your data read/write very fast so it doesn't bog down your server, but you also have to have it very easy to modify so you can change the game's content.

One solution is to use the easiest method at first until your game is nearly complete, then switch to the fastest method since it is very unlikely you will have to change the format of the data. This requires a bit of extra time, but in the end, can be well worth it.

In the two methods I will be talking about, binary will be the faster while using a database will be the easier. Both are fast methods, but binary is a hell of a lot harder to use but quite a bit faster.