Unless you have a very strong reason to have such a big number of columns on your table, this is the kind of question that I assume that when they are asked it means that something is not being done properly. SQL Server Compact performs quite well
on desktop machines - at least when compared with mobile devices - and IMHO, instead of adding columns to my table, like in a table where you save car characterisitcs...
ID, Owner, Brand, Model, Year, Color, Wheels, Cilinders, Capacity, Seats, Sunroof, Type, Radio, fuel, ...
1, Alberto Silva, Land Rover, Discovery, 1998, Red, 16", 4, 2500, 7, 4x4, mp3, diesel, ...
2. John Doe, Toyota, Prius, 2010, White, 15", 4, 1800, 5, hatch, dvd, hybrid, ...
I would do it with two tables, like
Cars
ID, Owner, Brand, Model
1, Alberto Silva, Land Rover, Discovery
2. John Doe, Toyota, Prius
Characterisitcis
Car, Characteristic, Value
1, year, 1998
1, color, red
1, wheels, 16"
...
1, fuel, diesel
...
2, year, 2010
2, color, white
...
2, fuel, hybrid
...
(underline columns are Primary Keys)
This gives you a lot of flexibility, allows to manage extra-data without changing table structure, makes records smallerr so easier to maintain at the file level, makes it easier to display information on detail pages with repeaters.
Hope this helps!
Alberto Silva Microsoft MVP - Device Application Development - http://msmvps.com/AlbertoSilva moving2u - R&D Manager - http://www.moving2u.pt
