database - Is it faster to search for a large string in a DB by its hashcode?

Question

If I need to retrieve a large string from a DB, Is it faster to search for it using the string itself or would I gain by hashing the string and storing the hash in the DB as well and then search based on that?

If yes what hash algorithm should I use (security is not an issue, I am looking for performance)

If it matters: I am using C# and MSSQL2005

Answer 1

In general: probably not, assuming the column is indexed. Database servers are designed to do such lookups quickly and efficiently. Some databases (e.g. Oracle) provide options to build indexes based on hashing.

However, in the end this can be only answered by performance testing with representative (of your requirements) data and usage patterns.