database basics

As a database marketing employee for a large company I work on several different database structures. Our Information Access team has advised us that a core field in our main database will be changing format.

This field is used in over a dozen tables and different databases and is the very basic starting point for all our billing and heirarchy. The field in question (CustomerAccountNumber) will be changed from a Char(9) to a VarChar(30) to handle a new additional billing structure that is coming in.

Our problem that we forsee is we merge this field throughout several other database structures thus merging on CAN. We use several different database tools as a company and our department uses SAS which will not have an issue with the change. I do believe however Access will not be able to merge tables with a Char() and a VarChar(). I know that Oracle can't do it.

So my question is....Is it not Database logic that you should add a new field (in this case the VarChar(30) that would work universally with all new billing systems and keep the Char(9) for end users that might need it insted of changing the field.

The assumption at this point is that they (Information Access) feel that there will be no implecations to end users therefore change the field. I say add a unversal field because you just never know.

Any thoughts.. Received on Tue Dec 18 2001 - 10:11:12 CST