Re: Is the use of VARCHAR(256) as Primary Keys preferred in Oracle?

From: Jim <no-spam_at_no-spam.org>
Date: Mon, 18 Nov 2002 07:35:59 -0800
Message-ID: <lh1itu0ibhtnjt28jal4ne6ou7e6j1n267@4ax.com>

I confess I don't understand the preference for the use of a surrogate key instead of a natural key except in special cases.

I can see that a surrogate, "artificial" key would have some value IF all "natural" columns in a table must be updatable, IF no 'natural' column, or reasonable combination of 'natural' columns, would be unique, and IF all updating of the table would be perfomed by application programs able to deal with the essentially meaningless surrogate key.

On the other hand, use of a 'natural' key composed of column(s) understood and meaningful to the user would, it seems to me, yield a more straightforward, easier for the user to understand design.

Am I missing something (probably)? Received on Mon Nov 18 2002 - 09:35:59 CST