The relational-database tag has no wiki summary.
15
votes
4answers
2k views
Why many designs ignore normalization in RDBMS?
I got to see many designs that normalization wasn't the first consideration in decision making phase.
In many cases those designs included more than 30 columns, and the main approach was "to put ...
14
votes
1answer
6k views
When should you use a document vs relational vs graph database? [closed]
For the purposes of discussion let's consider a FourSquare scenario.
Scenario
Entities:
Users
Places
Relationships:
Checkins: users <-> places, many to many
Friends: users <-> users, ...
12
votes
6answers
1k views
In plain English, what is a database index most similar to?
Setup: Suppose you are teaching an introduction to Databases class, the students are CS students that have a working knowledge of tree structures, how they can speed up searches, and have probably ...
11
votes
10answers
895 views
How could RDBMSes be considered a fad?
Completing my Computing A-level in 2003 and getting a degree in Computing in 2007, and learning my trade in a company with a lot of SQL usage, I was brought up on the idea of Relational Databases ...
10
votes
3answers
735 views
How do I know my data is relational or object oriented in nature?
Just read these lines-
If your data is object in nature, then use object stores ("NoSQL"). They'll be much faster than a relational database.
If your data is relational in nature, the ...
9
votes
4answers
2k views
Are database schema migrations a problem in production environments?
In discussions about NoSQL vs SQL databases, I sometimes hear that companies prefer to use schemaless NoSQL databases because it is problematic to migrate the schema to a new version. But is that ...
9
votes
4answers
336 views
Do these specific tables need surrogate keys?
Background
I have this tables
+-------------------------+ +------------------------+
|Airport | |Country |
|-------------------------| |------------------------|
...
9
votes
2answers
744 views
Data Quality in Relational Database Regression Tests
I have been working on an open source Museum Collections Management web application that is to be used to keep track of a museum's accessioned, donated, loaned or otherwise acquired artefacts.
This ...
8
votes
5answers
785 views
Why is SQL known as a relation-based / functional language?
We're learning that most languages are classified as either of the two, "relation based" or "high level". I've never used SQL before, but from reading its syntax it seems more like the ...
8
votes
7answers
639 views
Should a surrogate key ever be exposed to a user?
Often in a table that has no natural key, it is still useful for users to be able to have a uniquely generated identifier. If the table has a surrogate primary key (and in such a case you would ...
7
votes
2answers
2k views
B Tree compared to an R tree - Isn't it just a bunch of linked lists linked together?
I'm pretty familiar with a B Tree, mainly having to keep the databases well fed with electricity, air conditioning, and harddrive space. I associate with a double (doubl[ie,ey]?) linked list.
Today, ...
7
votes
5answers
1k views
Predicting advantages of database denormalization
I was always taught to strive for the highest Normal Form of database normalization, and we were taught Bernstein's Synthesis algorithm to achieve 3NF. This is all very well and it feels nice to ...
7
votes
1answer
196 views
Can relational algebra/calculus proofs be used to test/verify SQL?
Is it feasible or even possible to use relational algebra and/or relational calculus in the form of proofs to test/verify the correctness of SQL statements, functions, and stored procedures?
It seems ...
6
votes
3answers
4k views
Document Database versus Relational Database : how to choose?
I'm a SQL guy, but I know there is Not Only SQL databases - document-database mostly. As with most technologies there are pro and cons for each technology.
I've read some articles, but they were too ...
6
votes
4answers
1k views
I want a trivial example of where MongoDB can scale but a relational database will have trouble
I'm just learning to use MongoDB, and when discussing with other programmers would like a quick example of why NoSQL can be a good choice compared to a traditional RDBMS - however the scenarios I come ...
6
votes
5answers
400 views
Type of AI to tackle this problem?
I posted this on stackoverflow but want to get your recommendations as well as a user on overflow recommended I post it here.
I'm going to say from the beginning that I am not a programmer, I have a ...
6
votes
2answers
368 views
What are some useful resources for learning tuple calculus?
I've been trying to go over my tuple calculus over and over again. What's worse is that my professor and tutors are not much help during their hours.
Does anyone know a good place to learn about ...
5
votes
7answers
574 views
Is there value denoting a key as “Primary”?
Question: Is there value in denoting a key as "Primary"?
This question is not about the definition of a primary key. It is not about the fact primary's aren't nullable. It is not about ...
5
votes
3answers
2k views
Would a NoSQL DB be more efficient than a relational DB for storing JSON objects?
I am using a library that returns a JSON object (as a string, but I think that's standard), and I would like to store the contents of this object into a local database.
I'm fairly fresh-faced in ...
5
votes
4answers
2k views
Should I create an Enum mapping to my database table
I have a database table containing a list of systems relevant to the tool I am building, mostly in-house applications, or third-party systems we receive data from. This table is added to infrequently, ...
5
votes
2answers
1k views
Handling subscriptions, balances and pricing plan changes
Preamble
My aim is to create reusable code for multiple projects (and also publish it on github) to manage subscriptions. I know about stripe and recurring billing providers, but that's not what this ...
5
votes
1answer
178 views
What are graph datastores better at doing than other datastores and why?
Where previously there was only relational databases, the data store world is now rife with options like Key-Value, Document, and Graph datastores. Unfortunately, every datastore likes to show how it ...
5
votes
1answer
146 views
What is the common approach to component template databases?
My Project:
I have employees who are required to go through a checklist when they encounter a duck, a cat, and a human. In our business, we have a set number of ducks, cats, and humans that come in ...
4
votes
3answers
599 views
Which aspect of normal forms do entity-attribute-value tables violate, if any?
I'm not asking if EAV tables are good or bad. I'm wondering if they are considered "normalized", and if not, why? If they aren't normalized, which normal form are they violating and why?
3
votes
3answers
703 views
What does the word Relational in “Relational Database” imply?
I tried searching but didn't get any useful information.
What does the word "Relational" mean here? Is it tables being related to each other just like the real life entities, or does it mean ...
3
votes
4answers
715 views
Is this database design sound and fully normalised?
I'm creating a database to store words. The intended usage is to query the database to find a word matching a set of filters. E.g. if I wanted to find a word with < 10 letters, < 3 syllables, ...
3
votes
3answers
712 views
How should I represent an enumerated type in a relational database?
I am working on developing a relational database that tracks transactions that occur on a device I'm working on for my company. There are different types of transactions that could occur on the ...
3
votes
1answer
173 views
At what point does caching become necessary for a web application?
I'm considering the architecture for a web application. It's going to be a single page application that updates itself whenever the user selects different information on several forms that are ...
3
votes
1answer
232 views
Equality between arity and degree concepts in relational theory
I've been reading the book "SQL and Relational Theory: How to Write Accurate SQL Code" by C. J. Date. I have no formal background in CS, much less relational theory. Combined with the fact English is ...
3
votes
1answer
471 views
How would one build a relational database on a key-value store, a-la Berkeley DB's SQL interface?
I've been checking out Berkeley DB and was impressed to find that it supported a SQL interface that is "nearly identical" to SQLite.
...
3
votes
1answer
468 views
Data integrity in NoSQL situations
Background
To start off, at work I work with a legacy system that, in its day, was quite spectacular, but now is ...interesting... to work with. It uses IBM (now Rocket) UniVerse as its backing ...
3
votes
1answer
259 views
Suitable algorithm for joining records from multiple databases
I am in the process of writing a library that is used to be able to access data from a database. The library requires the initial definition of all the tables that the application will be using in the ...
2
votes
5answers
997 views
Planning relational database - one or two tables?
I'm currently planning the database structure of a used car's advertisements site. Each advert contains information about a vehicle, and a vehicle can be advertised multiple times over its lifespan ...
2
votes
2answers
744 views
single table w/ extra columns vs multiple tables which duplicate schema
I am working on a project where at some point, I needed to make a decision on whether or not, in the database, I should have a single table with multiple columns that not every record uses, or ...
2
votes
2answers
167 views
Should database-models (conceptual or physical) be reviewed by DBAs?
Where I work, new applications that are being developed that will use their own relational database, must have their database-models (conceptual, then physical ) reviewed and aproved by DBAs.
Things ...
2
votes
1answer
66 views
How to define item level permissions in a relational database
I need to model a database design to provide item level permissions to users based on the user's role access. I am using asp.net with sql server 2012
I am looking at similar experience on how ...
2
votes
1answer
70 views
When deciding a Primary Key, can I use Date part of a DateTime field
I'm designing a payroll system I have designed a database with several tables and this question is related to following tables
EMPLOYEE (Employee_ID [pk], Name,... etc)
LOCATION (Location_ID [pk], ...
2
votes
1answer
108 views
Is it substandard if I have multiple tables in my database yet there's no relationship at all? [closed]
I have multiple tables in my database. Some tables have relationship to others and some don't have. My friend told me that it is not advisable to have a table that is not related to others. Is it ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
Storing translation data as JSON column
We're deciding on how to store translations of some descriptions of database items.
We could go the traditional way and keep a translations table (and a language table and an object_translation ...
2
votes
2answers
89 views
Should I be using a composite key for this table?
My database is going to store words, so the Word table is the most important. The Rhyme table lists which words a particular word perfectly rhymes with. It consists of three fields:
RhymeID - primary ...
2
votes
3answers
306 views
db design: circular references for the-one-of-many case
There are many questions about circular references around (if they are bad or not) but this one will be concrete. Consider the following case.
There are two models Image and User. Users have ...
2
votes
3answers
196 views
Tracking correct order details in commerce database when modifying 'products'
I am implementing an ecommerce database. This is slightly different than most as the 'products' that are for sale are for services provided. For example a user (vendor) of the system may define a ...
2
votes
2answers
99 views
How should this relationship be structured in a relational database?
In a recent project I was asked to implement an events system. An Event had to have a Location which was originally specced out as simply a physical location with some optional extra notes. Then the ...
2
votes
2answers
252 views
How should I make searching a relational database more efficient? [duplicate]
This is in the scope of a web application. I have a database which has a few nested relations. There is a feature which depicts the history of a large chain of relations. It is essentially a data ...
2
votes
2answers
677 views
Database model for keeping track of likes/shares/comments on blog posts over time
My goal is to keep track of the popular posts on different blog sites based on social network activity at any given time. The goal is not to simply get the most popular now, but instead find posts ...
2
votes
1answer
325 views
Designing persistence schema for BigTable on AppEngine
I have tried to design the datastore schema for a very small application. That schema would have been very simple, if not trivial, using a relational database with foreign keys, many-to-many ...
2
votes
1answer
536 views
Sanity of design for my in-memory object representations of database rows
I've been trying to revise the structural design of the C#.NET-based system I'm currently working on. The new design involves a rather light-weight object-relational mapping framework (we're trying ...
2
votes
1answer
1k views
Database of words and related words for search engine [closed]
I need to be able to search for a word in the English language and have a list of related words be displayed. Let's say I have a list of 100 words that the user should be able to search through. For ...
1
vote
2answers
2k views
Using Autoincrement Primary keys as Foreign Keys
When creating a table, there is an option for us to set the numeric primary key as autoincrement where it's value increases whenever a new data in inserted.
This primary number can be used for ...
1
vote
3answers
665 views
Should lookup tables enumerating strings have an integer primary key?
When I learned relational databases, the prof said that one would "almost always" want an artificial int as the primary key in a table, but did not specify what the exceptions are. At some time I ...
