Not necessarily. I do precisely this for a data base whose structure I do not control. I stuff
|code1|code2|code3| ... Into an unused text field. The users can query on LIKE "%|code2|%. The key is to have a delimiter at the start and end of the entire list, so that the string match doesn't get confused. Of course, this would probably be painfully slow. I can't say whether or not it would be slower than the other alternatives. Regards, Jerry Schwartz Global Information Incorporated 195 Farmington Ave. Farmington, CT 06032 860.674.8796 / FAX: 860.674.8341 > -----Original Message----- > From: Martijn Tonies [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 9:53 AM > To: mysql@lists.mysql.com > Subject: Re: Max columns in a tabel in MyISAM storage engine > > > > > > The "right" way to do this would be your second way, where > there would be > > one row per answer. I can't really grasp how the questions > and answers > > relate to anything else, so I'm making a lot of assumptions. > > > > If you are concerned that this technique is too slow, > because it involves > > linking two tables, there is an ugly alternative. You could > store all of > > your answers in a single text field, with some kind of > delimited format: > > > > "q1=answer1,q2=answer2,q5=answer5" > > > > And then parse it in your program. > > And eliminates the possibility to do any queries against your database > that make any sense whatsoever. > > Martijn Tonies > Database Workbench - development tool for MySQL, and more! > Upscene Productions > http://www.upscene.com > My thoughts: > http://blog.upscene.com/martijn/ > Database development questions? Check the forum! > http://www.databasedevelopmentforum.com > > -- > MySQL General Mailing List > For list archives: http://lists.mysql.com/mysql > To unsubscribe: > http://lists.mysql.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > -- MySQL General Mailing List For list archives: http://lists.mysql.com/mysql To unsubscribe: http://lists.mysql.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]
