Home Forums Database Design Design Ideas and Questions EAV's and NVP's are bad. So... What do YOU use as an alternative? RE: EAV's and NVP's are bad. So... What do YOU use as an alternative?

  • May 7, 2011 at 12:02 pm

    #1321400

    Ross McMicken (5/3/2011)

    I've seen them used very successfully in applications where the end users have choices on configuration.

    ...

    I've used EAV tables to store configuration data in cases where it made sense.

    ...

    Like any other concept, there are appropriate places for EAV/NVP constructs, and it's up to us to make sure they are used correctly.

    My thoughts, exactly. It all boils down to "It Depends". It's a bit like saying that all Cursors and While loops are bad. While they should be generally avoided, there are times where it's not only acceptable but they actually are the correct solution.

    --Jeff Moden

    RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
    First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
    ________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

    Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

    Helpful Links:
    How to post code problems
    How to Post Performance Problems
    Create a Tally Function (fnTally)