InfoPath Dev

When would you send data to a Sharepoint list, rather than storing data in a form library?  Assuming the answer is that you would want to present the data to other users in other locations.  So aside from specific business requirements, is there any benefit to having the data in the Sharepoint list vs. the form library?  Would this prevent losing data during templates updates if you did not use versioning?

I am aware that InfoPath 2010 will support Sharepoint list customizations, but my question applies to InfoPath 2007.

One of the biggest differences between a List and a Library is that there is no document associated with a list item.  The item is stored in the SharePoint DB whereas in a document library you have the actual XML (in the case of InfoPath) that is saved in the library.  The client application opens the document and works with the file that way.

Additionally information in a list is "flat" (not relatinoal) by default. You can use a list or lists to create a relational DB in SharePoint but if you need repeating sections etc you will need to use a document library and an InfoPath template and work with documents.

Take a look at this link, I know it is for SharePoint 2010 BUT there is some useful information here that does still apply to 2007: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/infopath/archive/2010/04/22/comparing-list-and-form-library-forms.aspx

Ted

Thank you.  This is good information!