I have implemented a cart class that holds product IDs. Users can access their cart via a button that triggers a popup, which means the cart needs to load its contents on every page visit.
Currently, I can only save the IDs due to size constraints, but I want the users to see the product names. Thus, I would need to execute an individual query for each product to retrieve its information from the database.
Could this approach lead to significant performance issues, or are there more efficient alternatives? I could retrieve all the product IDs initially and run a single query to gather the necessary product information. However, I would prefer not to refactor the class too much. Is there a meaningful difference between these methods?
Additionally, I don’t expect the number of SQL queries to climb too high, as it’s unlikely that a user would attempt to purchase a large number of distinct items at once.
I agree with others. doing many queries might slow things down. u could try joining tables or storing product details temporarily on client side, like localstorage. this way, u reduce server hits. Also, take into account how consistent u need the data to be when considering this options. 
intersting dilemma, Sam. Have you considered caching product info once fetched, to reduce the repetitive querries? Also, do you see these potential performance issues affecting user experiance, or are you more concerned about backend load? would love to hear others’ thoughts too. 
Executing individual SQL queries for each product can indeed create performance bottlenecks, especially with higher database load or latency. Instead, you might consider using a single query with a SQL IN condition to retrieve all product data in one go. This approach is more efficient because it minimizes database connection overhead and reduces round trips. Moreover, database caching mechanisms, such as query caching or using a data store like Redis, can also enhance performance, ensuring that frequently accessed data is served rapidly.