Why is FASTINSERT sometimes slower than INSERT in Database Toolbox 3.1 (R14SP3)?

When inserting data into some tables or when inserting certain data, I have observed that FASTINSERT is sometimes slower than INSERT.

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

FASTINSERT in some cases may be slower than INSERT. This can happen for large tables and/ or insertion of dates.

The speed of FASTINSERT is partially dependent upon the existing number of records in the database table. This is because the database table is queried by FASTINSERT to determine the column data types.

Additionally, FASTINSERT may be slower than INSERT if dates are being inserted. The bottleneck is DATEVEC, which may be slow enough to eliminate the benefit of using FASTINSERT.

As a workaround you can use the INSERT function. However, be aware that this function is deprecated and may not exist in future releases of Database Toolbox.