Re: Foreign Key Problems

bs writes
> Just a little technical note about FK constraints in V6. It's true
> that they're not enforced in DML, but the actually ARE enforced in DDL.
> Just try DROPping the Dept table if there's a FK pointing to it from the
> Emp table and you'll see for yourself.

Duh :-) This was one of the stupidest things Oracle EVER did, IMHO.

They implemented the SYNTAX of this feature in V6 so they could claim SYNTACTICAL compatibility with the ANSI SQL Referential Integrity Enhancement (1989) and then didn't implement the functional capability so that it would useful in any way, shape or form. I would like to know exactly WHAT good comes of enforcing the constraints on the table definitions but not on the data????

"Gee, Sally, lets design a car and make sure we put a gas gauge in it so we can tell when we run out of gas. We can't afford to put in an engine so that we actually can USE any gas, but hey, our gas gauge works!"

I mean really!

Now, so that I won't get flamed for not saying SOMETHING nice, I will say that V7 has an EXCELLENT referential constraints implementation that works and works well. So, when they finally got around to it, they indeed put in a mighty fine "engine".

Jon

-- 
Jon Rosen
"So remember when you're feeling very small and insecure, how amazingly unlikely is your birth, and pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space, because there's bugger all down here on Earth." - Monty Python