Re: oracle sequence numbers

In message <2388939.1042587191_at_dbforums.com>, helen_fearman <member22597_at_dbforums.com> writes
>
>What are the main pros and cons of using oracle sequence numbers for
>primary keys in situations where good unique candidate keys exist and
>which could be designated as primary keys? Is there an accepted "best
>practice"?

Many people automatically use sequence numbers when they create tables. My strongly held belief is that you should always use a real primary key if you can. If you use a sequence number as a surrogate you often need to write additional code to maintain the 1:1 mapping between the real primary key and the surrogate. This may eat up any performance savings you get from using shorter keys, and will introduce an additional source of error.

-- 
Bernard Peek
bap_at_shrdlu.com
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