Lookup Tables, the right way?

From: Jason Williams <jason_at_monitorsoft.com>
Date: 10 Mar 2006 08:52:13 -0800
Message-ID: <1142009533.207830.114040@p10g2000cwp.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 - 10:52:13 CST