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 Locating Data on the Optimal Platform 
You get maximum performance when you store data and other attributes of your database on the optimal platform. The best platform for a particular element depends on how the element is accessed and updated. For example, you might want to store a local copy of a server table such as a postal code directory that is used as a lookup table, and refresh the local copy only when the back-end table changes.
The following table lists some common application elements and examples of where to locate them for optimal performance.
 Locating Elements by Platform 

Element		Location	Type	Notes

Tables		Local	Local copies of server lookup tables; small, infrequently changed tables	Use a time stamp, if supported by your remote server, to compare and optionally refresh the local table to match any changes to the back-end source table.
	 	Remote 	Large or frequently changing tables	

Rules		Local 	Rules on remote views 	You can use DBSETPROP( ) to store field- and record-level rules on a remote view. Your application can use these local rules to check the validity of data before sending the data to the back-end as an update to remote tables.
		Remote 	Row-level and column-level rules on remote base tables	

Stored proc	Local 	Visual FoxPro stored procedures	
		Remote 	Back-end server stored procedures	Use the SQL pass-through SQLEXEC( ) function to call server stored procedures.

Transactions	Local 	Visual FoxPro transactions	
		Remote	Server transactions	

Triggers	Local views	No triggers on views	
		Remote	Server triggers	

To reduce network traffic during lookups, you can choose to store not only infrequently-changing but also frequently-changing lookup tables locally. For example, you can download your company’s customer list and refresh it only when customer information changes.
To accomplish this, you can program your application to compare the time stamp on the local copy of the table with the time stamp on back-end data (if your remote server supports time stamps) and update the local copy only if the server table has changed. You can also add a command button to your form that forces an immediate download of the table, allowing users to refresh their copy of the local table on demand.

 VFP Online Documentation
  - Developer's Guide
    - Creating Client/Server Solutions