# What to do with large data files?

**URL:** https://forum.makecode.com/t/what-to-do-with-large-data-files/12571
**Category:** Help
**Created:** [March 7, 2022, 6:00pm UTC](https://forum.makecode.com/t/what-to-do-with-large-data-files/12571 "2022-03-07T18:00:52Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 1

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### Author: ![AlexK](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.makecode.com/alexk/32/33339_2.png) [@AlexK](https://forum.makecode.com/u/AlexK)
#### Post date: [March 7, 2022, 6:00pm UTC](https://forum.makecode.com/t/what-to-do-with-large-data-files/12571/1 "2022-03-07T18:00:52Z")

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Wanted to get some opinions, particularly from the devs, on a rather ridiculous idea that I have.

I’ve been thinking about word games lately, and I found myself down a rabbit hole this weekend. I thought, “what about a generic word lookup extension?” So, I created a proof of concept:

> **[YAWL](https://arcade.makecode.com/79223-24844-73289-05507)**
>
> Made with ❤️ in Microsoft MakeCode Arcade.

The program works just fine in a browser. The data file contains the _entire_ YAWL (“Yet Another Word List”) with some 200,000+ entries. The data file itself is about 5 MB on my file system. In contrast, the word list that I used for _What’s My Word_, with 2,000+ entries, clocks in at around 30 kB. This clearly is ridiculous, and I really can’t think of a reason why I would need the entire YAWL loaded into a project. But, for giggles … what if I did?

The strings are already in hex format, so is it better to place these into buffers somehow and access the data that way? Or does the compiler already know to place constants into the game file and make them accessible to the runtime? Is the game file limit still 512 kB for hardware, or has that been expanded?

Would love your thoughts.

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