I would design three tables: Table1 (states): ID, name, abbreviation
Table2 (state_item): ID, state_id (from states), item_id (from item_type), item_value (varchar) Table3 (item_type): ID, item_name Into the item_type table you can insert: Nick Name Motto Name origin Facts SomeOtherDataPoint SomeOtherDataPoint2 etc Now, you can have as many nick names per state as needed, some states may have 1, some 50, etc. Same for every other data point you want to keep track of for each state as well. On Mon, Sep 19, 2011 at 8:55 AM, Richard Reina <gatorre...@gmail.com> wrote: > I want to create a US geography database. So far I have categories such as > state nick names (some states have more than one), state mottos (text 25 to > 150 characters), state name origins (100-300 characters), state "trivial > facts", entry into union. My question is; would it be better to keep at > least some of this information in separate tables like: > > state_basic > ID | name | Incorporation | Entry in Union| Name_origin | Motto > > state_nicknames > ID | name | nick_name| > > state_trivia > ID | name | fact > > or would it be batter for queries to try to put all this information in one > table? > > Thanks, > > Richard > -- ----------------------------- Johnny Withers 601.209.4985 joh...@pixelated.net
