I'm not sure if this is the right list to ask such a question; if not, any direction as to the appropriate forum would be much appreciated!
This may be a simple question, but I'm still on the early stages of my learning about databases. I'm developing an application that will require information from various sources. Since what might be considered required information about those sources will vary (occasionally dramatically), I'm unsure as to the correct design for the database tables. In other words I'm left with (I believe) two choices: 1. Create a source table that will contain, among other things, every possible field for a source type and sort out what is considered required information at the application level. 2. Create a few source tables detailing the required information about each source type. The only way I can think of doing this is something along the lines of: sourceFields: fieldId, fieldName, .... sourceRequireds: reqId, typeId, fieldId, .... sourceInfo: infoId, fieldId, sourceId, .... and then pull only the appropriate data from the database at query time using JOINs. Which of these options (or a third I have no idea about!) would be appropriate here? If possible, maybe a general "conventional wisdom" statement would greatly help my education on these matters! Thank you, Jeffrey Santos
