Re: A Normalization Question

On 8 Jul 2004 22:05:47 -0700, Neo wrote:

>References aren't within the scope of normalizing things in a db
>because they are independent of the things being represented.

Hi Neo,

Yahoo!!! You've finally got it.

Have you ever tried storing a real person in a computer? Did (s)he fit? Did (s)he object to your attempts? Of course you didn't. Instead, you use the persons' name as a reference to the person - names can be stored in a computer, persons can't.

Have you ever tried storing a color in a computer? Since you can't physically handle a color, it'd be quite hard. You could try to pour some paint in the computer, but paint is not a color (it HAS a color, but it is more than only a color) and most computers won't work after such an operation. Instead, you use (for instance) the color's English name as a reference to the color - names can be stored in a computer, color's can't.

>References aren't within the scope of normalizing things in a db
>because they are independent of the things being represented.

Therefore, storing the string "Brown" as a reference to a person and the string "brown" as a reference to a color is not in violation of normalisation.

Best, Hugo

-- 

(Remove _NO_ and _SPAM_ to get my e-mail address)