Should I be using UpdateAsync, SetAsync, or ProfileService?

[ValiantWind (Valiant)]

@tacotopasu

I think you’re supposed to use :SetAsync() when the player has no data and use :UpdateAsync() when the player has data.

This is far from true.

colbert2677 makes a great explanation here on SetAsync vs UpdateAsync:

DataStore: SetAsync() vs. UpdateAsync()

If you aren’t directly mutating or using the previous data then there’s a good chance (but not a guarantee) you aren’t making use of the full benefits of UpdateAsync. UpdateAsync being used like SetAsync isn’t the exact same since they’re both implemented differently but they’re similar. UpdateAsync essentially “puts more thought” into what it’s doing when saving data before doing so - respecting other servers’ attempts to manipulate the same key, retrying until the data is set and allow the de…

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@BlueBloxBlast I recommend reading the post I linked above as it explains the different between SetAsync and UpdateAsync very well.

However, I recommend using ProfileService as it has several benefits as explained here:

@loleris

The benefits of using ProfileService for your game’s profiles are:

• This is my personal module that I intensively support - any bugs you find are also my bugs - In the very unlikely (astronomically unlikely ) case you do find a bug I’ll usually fix it in around 2 - 3 days if you can give me a decent report.
• Easy to learn, and eventually forget - ProfileService does not give you any data getter or setter functions. It gives you the freedom to write your own data interface.
• Built for massive scalability - low resource footprint, no excessive type checking. Great for 100+ player servers. ProfileService automatically spreads the DataStore API calls evenly within the auto-save loop timeframe.
• Already does the things you wouldn’t dare script yourself (but should) - session-locking is essential to keeping your data protected from multiple server editing - this is a potential cause of item loss or item duplication loopholes. ProfileService offers a very comprehensive and short API for handling session-locking yourself or just letting ProfileService do it automatically for you.
• Future-proof - with features like MetaTags and GlobalUpdates, you will always be able to add new functionality to your profiles without headaches.
• Made for ambitious projects - ProfileService is a profile object abstraction detached from the Player instance - this allows the developer to create profiles for entities other than players, such as: group-owned houses, savable multiplayer game instances, etc.