ERP data model (Re: Len Silverston's Universal Data Models sanity)

"Dan" <guntermannxxx_at_verizon.com> wrote in message news:<msdnc.178306$L31.104276_at_nwrddc01.gnilink.net>...
> > should belong in the business rules, _not_ in the model. Otherwise the
> > model will be overly complex, very brittle, and needs to be modified
> > every now and then, for every company.
> >
> But the other extreme is a generalized model that is sparse, holds lots of
> nulls, and requires code to enforce basic integrity and data management.
> ERP products are a good example of this. They are as brittle for exactly
> the opposite reason. So pick your poison.

I've glanced at SAP's tables. They indeed are horrible. They are not relational at all, store data in duplicate places, and the tables have names so cryptic it's not funny. I don't even think SAP employs foreign key. I believe Baan basically suffers the same problem. These are probably because of historical reasons.

But I haven't looked at newer ERP products like Oracle App Suite or the one from Microsoft. Are they as horrible? Received on Sun May 09 2004 - 07:12:55 CEST