Achilleus, > I was wondering why is such a rage against arrays. > > I posted 2 very common problems where arrays provide > the only natural (and efficient) fit. (and got no responses) > So it seems to me that:
All of your points are correct. Us "old database hands" have a knee-jerk reaction against arrays for long-term data storage because, much of the time, developers use arrays because they are lazy or don't understand the relational model instead of because they are the best thing to use. This is particularly true of people who come to database development from, say, web design. In this thread particularly, Mike was suggesting using arrays for a field used in JOINs, which would be a royal mess. Which was why you heard so many arguments against using arrays. Or, to put it another way: 1. Array data types are perfect for storing data that arrives in the form of arrays or matricies, such as scientific data , or interface programs that store arrays of object properties. 2. For other purposes, arrays are a very poor substitute for proper sub-table storage of related data according to the relational model. 3. The distinguishing factor is "atomicity": ask yourself: "is this array a discrete and undivisible unit, or is is a collection of related but mutable elements?" If the former, use and array. If the latter, use a sub-table. Clearer now? -Josh Berkus ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- TIP 3: if posting/reading through Usenet, please send an appropriate subscribe-nomail command to [EMAIL PROTECTED] so that your message can get through to the mailing list cleanly
