> >The notion of a "variant record" exists in many programming languages. > >Typically you have a selector to indicate which variant it is. There is > >nothing at all wrong with using the same sort of construct in a database > >table. > >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variant_record > > In O-O databases. I think the concept is not defined in relational > database theory. Are you aware of the rel db rule regarding domains? > > >The only constraint you _really_ need to meet in a database is that > you let > >the database product do the things it needs to do so that the queries you > >make are O(log N) when possible. The rest is pure fluff. Beyond that, > >there is no "should". > > Relational theory says otherwise.
I'm with Peter on this one, in relational theory and data modelling, there's a lot of very well documented "should" :-) Martijn Tonies Database Workbench - tool for InterBase, Firebird, MySQL, NexusDB, Sybase SQL Anywhere, Oracle & MS SQL Server Upscene Productions http://www.upscene.com My thoughts: http://blog.upscene.com/martijn/ Database development questions? Check the forum! http://www.databasedevelopmentforum.com -- MySQL General Mailing List For list archives: http://lists.mysql.com/mysql To unsubscribe: http://lists.mysql.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]
