The really hard part is getting people to agree that there is not always a natural key to be had and that those natural keys that seem adequate are frequently...

• This reply was modified 6 years ago by RonKyle.

The article certainly isn't about CHAR v.s. VARCHAR v.s. INT PKs. She wisely picked an example that's not only common and, sometimes, hotly contested, but one that's incredibly simple and...

I'm not entirely clear on what you are hiding and why.  I have hidden accounts under similar circumstances using the permissions boxes to hide certain members.  There is subsequently a...

These are some of the same principles I learned doing staff work in the Army.

I dislike them as PKs and I believe using a surrogate is a better choice. Why? If I do change something, I'm not changing it in many places, which is...

• This reply was modified 6 years, 1 month ago by RonKyle. Reason: Added quotes

You go ahead and do your de duplication that will inevitably occur with some surrogate only keys.  I've seen these results many times.  I have yet to see a state...

This is one reason I dislike many natural keys as PKs.

I don't understand how this follows from the discussion..  First, there's not a whole lot of cases where there is...

OH is actually an alfa surrogate for Ohio.  And SSN is a semi-arbitrary surrogate key that originally carried some geographic information but not so much any more.

This is not according...

• This reply was modified 6 years, 1 month ago by RonKyle. Reason: Missing punctuation

Ok, let me clarify "keys vs data" since I seem to have annoyed the purists.

I am not a purist, but a practicalist.  That may not be a real word, but...

A few comments:

1. I often need to use incrementing integers as a primary key.  However, that is never my first choice.  I have seen incrementing integers used for state tables,...

Agree that the primary key cannot be subject to change.  Any change must be due to some extraordinary circumstances and not a matter of routine or reasonable possibility.  There are...

I like the distinction between business key and natural key.  Usually I have used the term business key.  Sometimes the business key has to be an identity.  Employee number seems...

I'm a big proponent of using natural keys where they exist.  But generally for name tables there is no choice but to use some form of identity.  For GDPR purposes...

By the way, the time required to acquire these skills is not insignificant.  The design rules are very different.  It would be a big mistake to apply the normal forms...

That can be a lot to ask of a DBA.  It's not inherent in the job description.  On the other hand, I began a journey from being a DBA to...