Re: Modelling objects with variable number of properties in an RDBMS

From: vc <boston103_at_hotmail.com>
Date: 3 Nov 2005 07:13:51 -0800
Message-ID: <1131030831.333554.25550@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>

Bernard Peek wrote:
> In message <MNqdnfUFqvsGGfTenZ2dnUVZ_tGdnZ2d_at_comcast.com>, VC
> <boston103_at_hotmail.com> writes
> >
> >"Bernard Peek" <bap_at_shrdlu.com> wrote in message
> >news:xGctaeGgBWaDFwgS_at_shrdlu.com...
> >> In message <xpednZGpW5rOofTeRVn-pQ_at_comcast.com>, VC
> >> <boston103_at_hotmail.com> writes
> >>
> >>>> Should these tests really be considered attributes? Wouldn't the act
> >>>> of presenting them as a two-tuple relation <test#, test result> simple
> >>>> be an wise step of normalization - not an example of an EAV
> >>>> decomposition? Am I totally missing the boat on this?
> >>>
> >>>It's a single test with ~6000 measurements.
> >>
> >> That doesn't sound like something that requires multiple attributes. If
> >> it's a single test then the results are presumably in one domain so a
> >> single entity should work.
> >
> >I am not intimately familiar with the testing process. According to the
> >person who created the model, it's a drug discovery chemical compound
> >testing process which runs daily. The test result for a given compound is
> >represented by many thousands of numbers, hence 600 attributes per entity.
> >They generated close to half a terabyte of experimental data each day.

>

> OK, that's going to be a lot of data however it's organised. I've got
> some idea of the problem domain, I started out as a pharmaceutical
> researcher. But without more details of the test I can't picture the
> structure of the data, and that's what I need to recommend a solution.
> If you can get me more information I could perhaps give more help. Email
> me if you don't want to post the details here.

Yes, that's a lot of data for sure (I made a typo in the above, it should have been 'hence 6000 atributes per entity').

I passed your kind offer to the person in charge of this stuff.

Thanks.

>

>
>
> --
> Bernard Peek
> London, UK. DBA, Manager, Trainer & Author.
Received on Thu Nov 03 2005 - 09:13:51 CST