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Will having an Array of PFFiles (also stored in another table on the server) in a User object increase that objects size, or will only references be held?

I know that you can associate a user with each file but it helps the app a lot if there is also a table of files in each user item. Is there a way to effectively do this without greatly increasing memory usage?

manny
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  • Where do you mean? In the parse.com back end, or in your app? Not clear what you're asking. – Wain Mar 30 '15 at 16:32
  • @Wain To clarify will the file be stored in just one place in backend or will multiple instances be created – manny Mar 30 '15 at 16:37

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When you upload the file (by whatever interface) you get back a reference to that file that you can associated with other objects, like a user. When you make this reference it's just like a pointer to the file object, not a full copy of the file object. It doesn't matter how many you store, you're just adding pointers. Obviously these pointers do take some space, but it's minimal compared to the size of the file (in basically all cases).

Wain
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  • Thanks so much! I wasn't sure if it was pointers or copies being made! This clarifies it perfectly – manny Mar 30 '15 at 16:49