Mark
You'll get a lot of differing opinions on this subject... here are my
preferences:
1) Name the table, itself, as singular - makes the SQL statements
more readable (English-like)
Event instead of Events, Category instead of Categories, etc.
3) Make the column names as concise and descriptive as possible
ProgramID, Description, LastName, CreditCardNumber
4) Underscores and/or Caps are a personal preference
5) Do *Not* include any repetition of the table name in the column
name, except:
The Primary Key contains its Table name
A Foreign Key Contains its Table name
Department
DepartmentID Integer Identity Primary Key,
Name
Phone
AnnualBudget
Employee
EmployeeID Integer Identity Primary Key,
DepartmentID References Department
Name
Phone
Salary
6) Do *not* include, in the column name, any reference to the type
of field: int, char, text, etc.
It is not unusual for field types to be changed over time, for
example a varchar field is
changed to a text field. Why make the programmer change all his
programs, documentation,
operating procedures, etc., *just* because the field *type* has changed?
7) When you reference a column, use the table name as a qualifier.
This makes a concise, readable
query:
SELECT
Employee.Name, Employee.Phone, Employee.Salary,
Department.Name, Department.Phone
FROM
Employee LEFT OUTER JOIN
Department ON Employee.DepartmentID = Department.DepartmentID
As opposed to:
SELECT
Emp_chr_Name, Emp_chr_Phone, Emp_mon_Salary, Dep_chr_Name, Dep_chr_Phone
FROM
Employee LEFT OUTER JOIN
Department ON Emp_fk_DepartmentID = Dep_pk_DepartmentID
I use the above conventions and have found them to yield efficient
and readable code (and documentation).
The readability is especially important for use by lay people when
creating Ad Hoc queries/reports or communicating their needs to
programmers... the database becomes a major asset of the *entire*
enterprise.
HTH
Dick
At 10:52 AM -0800 12/21/01, Mark Smeets wrote:
>So, a general question,
>
>When dealing with databases, how do you name your columns?
>
>Example: Table Name: Events
>Column(s): Start, End, Info
>
>Would you name it like this
>(a)Start, End, Info
>(b)eStart, eEnd, eInfo
>(c)cStart, cEnd, cInfo
>(d)or something completely different
>
>(the c stands for column)
>
>This doesn't have to be answered over the list, private email is good too.
>Just curious as to what others do.
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