Natural keys are also a nightmare to deal with when you have to do complex joins.
Natural keys are also a nightmare to deal with when you have to do complex joins. They are not guaranteed to be a single column value and can lead to joining across a half dozen columns when you need data from multiple tables. Usernames are actually a very good example of something that looks like an invariant when in actuality is anything but. On top of that, they are notoriously inconsistent between systems so you can't rely on usera in one system being usera in another even when you control both systems. Even if you do have a nice single column natural key, what happens when a business requirement changes and there's suddenly a completely new coding system? Or perhaps your coding system needs a new distinction, do you rely on hand or create a new column? How many tables to you have to touch to change to accommodate the new data? How much code is relying your tables be structured just so? Natural keys look appealing on face, but they can all too easily lead to a big mess down the road. The larger and more complex the system, the more external systems that you have to integrate, the bigger the mess becomes.
Posted by emeraldd on May 22, 2014, 4:15 PM
Tags
Related issues
- I hate that folks recommend random extensions.
- This is my biggest problem with agents, they constantly defensively code for cases that have no chance of happening and in most cases a p...
- I wish there was something like LEAN for biology.
- The issue is really the extreme difficulty of programming them, especially for anything sequential (rather than combinatorial).
- I probably could have beared with it if it was only limited to programming, but it showing up in creative fields has made me feel all sor...
- I hate that I'm in deep enough to know what you mean.
Raise real-world problems, find people facing the same issue, and discuss solutions.9,500 issues0 comments
reliability (Other)
I hate that folks recommend random extensions.
NewThis is my biggest problem with agents, they constantly defensively code for cases that have no chance of happening and in most cases a p...
I wish there was something like LEAN for biology.
The issue is really the extreme difficulty of programming them, especially for anything sequential (rather than combinatorial).
I probably could have beared with it if it was only limited to programming, but it showing up in creative fields has made me feel all sor...
I hate that I'm in deep enough to know what you mean.
The biggest problem with “AI” is that big corps are shoving it down our throats.
in the middel of a coding session with 5.6 sol.
Natural keys are also a nightmare to deal with when you have to do complex joins.
Natural keys are also a nightmare to deal with when you have to do complex joins. They are not guaranteed to be a single column value and can lead to joining across a half dozen columns when you need data from multiple tables. Usernames are actually a very good example of something that looks like an invariant when in actuality is anything but. On top of that, they are notoriously inconsistent between systems so you can't rely on usera in one system being usera in another even when you control both systems. Even if you do have a nice single column natural key, what happens when a business requirement changes and there's suddenly a completely new coding system? Or perhaps your coding system needs a new distinction, do you rely on hand or create a new column? How many tables to you have to touch to change to accommodate the new data? How much code is relying your tables be structured just so? Natural keys look appealing on face, but they can all too easily lead to a big mess down the road. The larger and more complex the system, the more external systems that you have to integrate, the bigger the mess becomes.
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Start the discussion.