Lookup Tables, the right way ?

From: <jason_at_monitorsoft.com>
Date: 10 Mar 2006 08:36:07 -0800
Message-ID: <1142008567.819531.96590@u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com>

We are currently debating what the best way to implement lookup tables in our databases, and we there are two opposing optinions.

If you are defining a database table that requires a lookup table, then the foreign key between the tow tables should be an integer, and the lookup table should contain two columns, a sequence number that is used for the foreign keys, and the actual value. For example :

Table Cars

Description ColorID(fk)

	Ford Escort 	1
	Mini Metro 	2


	Table Color

	ColorID(fk)	Color

	1	Red
	2	Green

2. If you are defining a database table that requires a lookup table, then the foreign key between the two tables should be a character field, and the lookup table should consist of a character field of the same length. For example:

Description Color(fk)

	Ford Escort 	Red
	Mini Metro 	Green

	Table Color

	Color(fk)

	Red	
	Green

I would appreciate your opinions. Received on Fri Mar 10 2006 - 10:36:07 CST