Re: Representation for Heterogeneous Attribute Set
Date: 11 Feb 2005 14:00:13 -0800
Message-ID: <1108159213.055145.252880_at_g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>
I ran into a similar problem with a Rent and Royalties business domain
about 20 years ago.
I found that instead of the typical attribute modeling approach, such
as in Joe Celko's example, define the appropriate specialized
sub-classes based on the algorithms.
Here is a simple example with Loans where the Interest Calculation method changes over time.
Create table Loans ( Loan_PrimaryKey , StartDate, TermYears , ....)
- For the Mortgage Interest Algorithms where the InterestMethod is either Fixed or Variable at any point in time Loan_Interest ( Loan_PrimaryKey , StartDate , InterestMethod )
- Here is the sub-type for the Fixed algorithm: Loan_Interest_Fixed ( Loan_PrimaryKey , StartDate , InterestRate )
- Here is the sub-type for the Variable algorithm: Loan_Interest_Variable ( Loan_PrimaryKey , StartDate, InterestMarginRate, InterestIndex_PrimaryKey )
Similary, there would be algorithm tables for each of the other Loan algorithm factors such as for Balloon Payments, Payment Frequency, Insurance, etc. Each of these could have their sub-classes which could have sub-classes.
These same structures could be used for regardless if a Loan is for a Home Mortgages, Home Equity or Line of Credit.
Hope this Helps. Received on Fri Feb 11 2005 - 23:00:13 CET