Insert Magento details to external database - mysql

Question

I need to insert data from Magento place order form to an external database, Please give details about how I can achieve it.
Currently when we click on place order it is inserting to table sales_flat_order, i need to save it into an external DB .
As i am New to Magento please don't mind if this is a simple thing.

Answer 1

When you say external DB, does that mean another database on the same box? Or a remote database on another box? Will the table remain the same, or are all the fields and additional information different?
Approaches:
API: http://www.magentocommerce.com/api/rest/Resources/Orders/sales_orders.html
If it's a remote box, you can use the REST API to pull the order's (once the API is active, the role is created, the user is assigned and connected) and push the returned information to the new box programatically.
Dataflow:
You can setup a dataflow for exporting the order information, pull in the CSV/XML,parse it and upload the needed parts to the new DB.
Dataflow Extension:
Same as above, but instead of doing all the programming yourself, can install an extension like: http://www.wyomind.com/orders-export-tool-magento.html and have it ftp information to a remote server so you can check/parse the file into the new DB as needed.
Can you reveal a bit more about the environment, the amount of data/orders, etc?
Thanks.
--- Update:
Per your response, it sounds less of a Magento question here and more of a MySQL question.
In this case, you can do something as simple as "replicating" or copying over the table data to your other local db.
If you're not working with too many orders, the following may meet your needs for a 1 time deal. If you're dealing with a substantial amount of orders the approach may need to be expanded upon.
##Direct Copy:
#using stage_magento to represent your other DB
#assuming this is done with a user that has correct permissions on both databases.
#create the table
CREATE TABLE stage_magento.sales_flat_order LIKE production_magento.sales_flat_order;
#copy the data
INSERT stage_magento.sales_flat_order SELECT * FROM production_magento.sales_flat_order;
#####################
## Option 2, export to file system, import to new db
##Indirect, Export from DB/Table
SELECT * FROM production_magento.sales_flat_order INTO OUTFILE '/tmp/sales_flat_order.csv' FIELDS TERMINATED BY ',' OPTIONALLY ENCLOSED BY '"' ESCAPED BY '\\' LINES TERMINATED BY '\n' ;
##Import into New DB/Table
LOAD DATA INFILE '/tmp/sales_flat_order.csv' INTO TABLE stage_magento.sales_flat_order FIELDS TERMINATED BY ',' OPTIONALLY ENCLOSED BY '"' ESCAPED BY '\\' LINES TERMINATED BY '\n' ;