RE: Thoughts on comments

From: Mark W. Farnham <mwf_at_rsiz.com>
Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2013 10:14:31 -0400
Message-ID: <015101ce2707$93095600$b91c0200$_at_rsiz.com>

Hmm. Kevlar makes an excellent point. Learning mode on: I think I'm revising my notion they should flow from the data model to the database. Okay, IF you're going to have comments in the database you'll need to make sure it is a situation that cannot snowball into a performance problem (See Kevlar post), AND, they should come from the data model if you're going to have them.

Look, if you have any serious product or system intended for production, you need a serious data model which does include all the comments. Hauling the extra weight along into production can sometimes cause problems, so it should be avoided.

mwf

-----Original Message-----
From: oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org [mailto:oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org] On Behalf Of Mark W. Farnham
Sent: Friday, March 22, 2013 9:53 AM
To: jeff.d.smith_at_oracle.com; oracle-l_at_freelists.org Subject: RE: Thoughts on comments

I do NOT disagree with Jeff's notion they should be both in the data model and the database.

I do find it a scary idea that some folks allow anything other than canned query access to a database without also providing access to the data model. (And yes, it certainly happens frequently. [The very first promise OAUG extracted from Larry was the production of the electronic documentation of the data model and processes in E-Business suite, which he delivered.] Those responsible should read the White Knight's Song. Naw, they wouldn't get it.)

If you DO have comments, remember that an out of date comment is worse than no comment and that block comments on the table are probably more useful (you CAN have both) than column comments. Whole treatises have been written on this from the software development process regarding code, and they are applicable.

If there is a way for information kept in two places to get out of sync, it will get out of sync. As per Herzog's Law, information kept in multiple locations is correct in at most one of them.

Properly managed, comments can indeed be a useful feature. I personally think they belong in the data model, the data model should be easily available to all, and that the comments on columns in the database should flow from the comments in the data model (lest they be different.)

-----Original Message-----
From: oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org [mailto:oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org] On Behalf Of Jeff Smith
Sent: Friday, March 22, 2013 7:53 AM
To: oracle-l_at_freelists.org
Subject: Re: Thoughts on comments

If you keep them in the data model, you assume that everyone has a copy of the data model.

If you put them in the database, then folks using your database will have access to your comments.

I prefer both - write at design time in your data model, and also include in your database objects. I've had to help too many end users with poorly documented systems to rely on having a good data model around.

Jeff

On 3/22/2013 12:25 AM, z b wrote:
> Listers,
>
> Just wanted to get a general opinion on using comments in the
> database. For example COMMENT ON COLUMN table.column "No comment".
>
> Does anyone do this as a regular best practice? I would prefer to see
> this abstraction in a data model, maybe not pushed to the database
> layer, especially since not all RDBMS engines have "comment"
> functionality.
>
> The thought is we should do this for every column, every table, every
> oracle db. This ends up being several million comments added to the
> our various instances.
> --
> http://www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l
>
>

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Received on Fri Mar 22 2013 - 15:14:31 CET