Re: Normalization, Natural Keys, Surrogate Keys

In message <2cf20de8.0205271905.95b44f6_at_posting.google.com>, Costin Cozianu <c_cozianu_at_hotmail.com> writes
>In your example you have perfectly good natural keys, that don't
>change often.
>
>Also state codes are pretty much all you need for US and Canada
>states. Don't know for India, South Africa and other places.

This is a situation where you don't have control over the data so some form of surrogate looks a good idea. If you allow free-text entry into a field you might find two addresses in Georgia that are 8,000 miles apart.

This is a common problem and a lot of people have got together to fix it. There are ISO standards for country codes. These codes are examples of a surrogate key maintained by a trusted third-party, just like the SSN. Using the ISO codes relieves the developer of the need to dream up new codes and ensures compatibility with other databases.

-- 
Bernard Peek
bap_at_shrdlu.com

In search of cognoscenti