Re: Surrogate Key vs Production Key

From: Galen Boyer <galenboyer_at_hotpop.com>
Date: 11 Oct 2004 08:08:11 -0500
Message-ID: <u655hmml9.fsf@standardandpoors.com>

On 9 Oct 2004, wizofoz2k_at_yahoo.com.au wrote:
> "Howard J. Rogers" <hjr_at_dizwell.com> wrote in message
> news:<41675d4e$0$10350$afc38c87_at_news.optusnet.com.au>...
>
>
>

>> 
>> Count me in very firmly as a Natural Key man. But I respect
>> your right to eat l'escargot, too.
>> 

>
> Wait until you've had to design, code and get accepted by
> the users a few dozen systems. Then tell me if you still
> like natural keys. I used to like them too. Until I had
> to wear the consequences of incomplete relational models
> and incomplete implementations. Reality has this nasty
> way of catching up with the best theory...

What does one do when the "natural keys" are actually different based on the source?

Maybe someone needs to define a "natural key". Seems to me, it is a key that some other system has already defined.

-- 
Galen Boyer

Received on Mon Oct 11 2004 - 08:08:11 CDT