sql insert varchar or data

Question

I'm developing application, which generate big html reports. I need to store data in temp tables in DB for html pages. Which is the best way to do it? Generate big xml string in table tmpTable(num, xmlStr)(xmlStr - aprox. 400 Kb) for HTML page, insert into table and than select this page after user request. Or save data in temp table like tmpTable1(num, val1, val2, val3...), where val - just short strings, int and double, and generate xml using this data after user requesting. Which way will be good for perfomance?

Answer 1

If you can normalize the data in tabular format, it's better to have that data in table. Generate the report based on user demand. Also, if report is not changing frequently, you may generate it as a batch process and keep it on server for the required time period.

Additionally, if you want to do any historical data mining, you still have raw data in your table. You can always run your queries and get the desired outputs. I'd personally go with this approach. Please share what would you choose and any further input/feedback.