> > > What I really would like to know is if I can get rid of the > > > primary key altogether - just not bother with one... > > > > yes, you can > > > > the purpose of a primary key is for relational integrity, > > which only makes sense if there is some other child table > > referencing this primary key as a foreign key > >That's what I thought, but I didn't know if it was considered heretical or >not... I don't want to get beaten up in a dark alley somewhere by a crowd of >angry database theorists :-)
In fact, the database theorists wouldn't beat you up. It's the people who build databases without understanding the theory who go around beating people up. And, sadly, I encounter them frequently as a jobbing consultant. When I say 'Why do you have this autonumber as your primary key when the customer number is a unique index?' they look at me in a way that makes me glad we're not in a dark alley. Ironically, there is a huge amount of free stuff on the Internet about how to do it all properly and several excellent books on it, if you don't mind spending money. Regards, David ____ � The WDVL Discussion List from WDVL.COM � ____ To Join wdvltalk, Send An Email To: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Send Your Posts To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change subscription settings to the wdvltalk digest version: http://wdvl.internet.com/WDVL/Forum/#sub ________________ http://www.wdvl.com _______________________ You are currently subscribed to wdvltalk as: [email protected] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
