Which is a better method for storing images - folder or SQL Server as binary?

Question

I am planning the development of a photo gallery application for a client. I am developing the app in asp.net 3.5 and would like to develop it so that I can re-use the applicati

Answer 1

The disadvantage of storing as binary is that you blow the database size to incredible sizes. If you were to use an express edition of SQL Server, which is limited to 4GB per database, you photo gallery would "finish" quite soon.

The advantage is that you can easily manipulate the access restrictions per file and per user. You just look at user rights and decide whether you serve back the image or not.