Database Polling vs Database Triggers

Developers should use database polling in scenarios where systems lack built-in change data capture (CDC) mechanisms or when integrating with legacy databases that do not support triggers or event listeners meets developers should learn and use database triggers when they need to enforce complex data constraints, automate logging or auditing of data changes, or implement cascading actions that must occur consistently across all applications accessing the database. Here's our take.

Database Polling

Nice Pick

Developers should use database polling in scenarios where systems lack built-in change data capture (CDC) mechanisms or when integrating with legacy databases that do not support triggers or event listeners

Pros

• It is suitable for batch processing, data synchronization between systems, or implementing simple notification systems where low latency is acceptable, such as in cron jobs or background tasks that update dashboards or caches
• Related to: change-data-capture, database-triggers

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Database Triggers

Developers should learn and use database triggers when they need to enforce complex data constraints, automate logging or auditing of data changes, or implement cascading actions that must occur consistently across all applications accessing the database

Pros

• For example, triggers are useful for automatically updating a 'last_modified' timestamp on record updates, validating data before it's committed, or synchronizing related tables in real-time without relying on application code
• Related to: stored-procedures, database-constraints

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. Database Polling is a concept while Database Triggers is a database. We picked Database Polling based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

Database Polling wins

Based on overall popularity. Database Polling is more widely used, but Database Triggers excels in its own space.