It might be very easy to code with a database, but the DB still has to do a lot of behind-the-scenes work, so you might not want them updated in real time anywa

It might be very easy to code with a database, but the DB still has to do a lot of behind-the-scenes work, so you might not want them updated in real time anyway. (n.b. this is all theoretical, I have no idea about the workings of HN) You could argue that this is another plus for flat files; you have a better appreciation for what operations are hard work, whereas a 'simple' one line select/join can hide a huge performance blocker...