Summary

This article briefly looks at the performance implications of ad hoc queries versus passing external variables to a query in a module

Details

Programatically, you can achieve similar results by dynamically generating ad hoc queries on the client as you can by definining your queries in modules and passing in external variable values as necessary.

Dynamically generating ad hoc queries on the client side results in each of your queries being compiled and linked with library modules before they can be evaluated - for every query you submit. In contrast, queries in modules only experience that performance overhead the first time they're invoked.

While it's possible to submit queries to MarkLogic Server in any number of ways, in terms of performance, it's far better to define your queries in modules, passing in external variable values as necessary.