Hi,

For me NULL means unknown and not "no value". If a name (for example) is unknow you put a NULL value and deal with it in the code. If there is no value (for the third name for example) than you can put an empty string or something else like "N/A".

But these are two different things and in my opinion you should not try to use empty string where it really is unknown. And if you find yourself with too many NULL it is time to rethink you db design.

Now this is only my point of view.

p.s I don't think like a DBA, I am a DBA.