Re: Migrating an Application from SQL Server 2000 to Oracle 10g

"DA Morgan" <damorgan_at_psoug.org> schreef in bericht news:1216688701.64031_at_bubbleator.drizzle.com...
> Shakespeare wrote:
>> "Michael Austin" <maustin_at_firstdbasource.com> schreef in bericht
>> news:bIygk.33467$ZE5.10372_at_nlpi061.nbdc.sbc.com...
>>> One thing I ran into is having to create sequences and triggers for all
>>> of those "auto-increment" data types in SQLServer and MySQL that a lot
>>> of people like to use for the PK... (which IMO is a complete waste of
>>> compute time if the data can be a self-unique PK - but that is just me)
>>>
>>
>> That's a discussion about meaningles and meaningful (primary) keys -
>> imho, data should never be the key itself.
>>
>> Shakespeare
>
> Are you ready to go toe-to-toe with Joe Celko and many others and
> argue that one should never use a natural key?
>
> I certainly hope not.
> --
> Daniel A. Morgan
> Oracle Ace Director & Instructor
> University of Washington
> damorgan_at_x.washington.edu (replace x with u to respond)
> Puget Sound Oracle Users Group
> www.psoug.org

Never say never. If you're ABSOLUTELY sure the natural key never changes and never duplicates, it's ok with me. Even technical real life keys may cause unexpected problems. I recall a salary payment system that used emplyee numbers as pk's. But then it appeared keys changed when women got married and took their husbands name, just because of some external demand that keys should be in the same order as the names...

Shakespeare Received on Tue Jul 22 2008 - 13:27:30 CDT