title: database vs. serialized objects in a web application
body: <p>First of all, let me apologize if this question is too broad. I'm looking for general information about object oriented design and web development, but there is a specific context: I want to make an application that randomly organizes a game of Assassin out of a list of people, in PHP.</p>
  
  <p>I had two thoughts on it. I could make a table in a database with fields for ID, name, email address, and target ID. Then I'd pick order the IDs at random and just update the target ID field whenever a player is "killed". The other thought was to write a "Player" class that has fields for name and email, and a field that is a pointer to the Player class representing the person's target. Sort of like a linked list of Players. This would involve serializing and unserializing instances of Player as changes are made, correct? </p>
  
  <p>I am wondering about the pros and cons of each of these methods. Is repeatedly serializing and unserializing objects going to be inefficient? How are object oriented applications with multiple simultaneous users commonly handled in PHP? </p>
  
  <p>Thank you for time, and again, sorry if this is not a specific enough question.</p>