> I'm working on an application that will need to store
> all sent and received emails in logical groupings - in
> my case, each transaction will have an email history
> associated with it.
> i can conceive of two ways to store the email data.
> 1. stick all pertinent email info in a db linked to
> the transaction id.
> 2. create a transaction id directory in the file
> system and store a file for each email sent/received
> with all the pertinent info within that file.
> the user needs this functionality to provide an
> archive of the transaction.
> i'm not experienced enough to know the pros and cons
> of either process, or if there is a better process i
> haven't thought of.
This is kind of over my head as a design question. However, there may already be a technology
that you can readily implement (probably with a few minor tweaks).
as example you can see how the postgresql mail achieve give any easy means for searching for
emails. I believe that the achieve uses PostgreSQL since IIRC I heard that it uses GIN indexing
for lightning fast search times.
http://search.postgresql.org/archives.search?cs=utf-8&fm=on&dt=back&q=mail+archieve&ul=http%3A%2F%2Farchives.postgresql.org%2F%25&dp=0&o=0&ps=20&s=rate
In addition to this it even keeps track of the "thread" as repliers respond the the email.
http://archives.postgresql.org/pgsql-general/2000-10/thrd2.php#01065
Anyway, I am sure someone on the list (most likely the general list) knows what is running on the
back ground that does this. May be it/or something similar to it would work for you.
Regards,
Richard Broersma Jr.