Alot of it would depend on what exactly you are doing. If you have alot of small
tables with only 3 columns(I'm assuming thats what you meant) that can make for a
messy server when it starts getting hit by a demand. Also, there are lots of good
books on database design. Que generally has made some pretty good books and are
available at most borders or barnes& noble. In most cases the theory is still the
same when it comes to relational databases. One thing that I dont think that most
books go over is what I like to call 'Relational Theory vs Relational Reality'.
Sometimes using a relational design, causes a significant overhead on the machine
and also there are situations when you are obtaining data for the data collecting
tables, you might want the opportunity to copy the data over rather than refer to
the data table being looked to for this data. This will increase the size of the
database, but overcomes situations such as 'What if the part# changes descriptions
slightly?' If you're still using the same part#, but different description and you
have to refer back to line item (I'm using a basic inventory system layout here),
your customer could be looking at one thing and you another and a breakdown in the
communication occurs because now the info isnt the same. Alot of times, it is via
experimentation that you learn this sort of thing. Other times, its because you've
painted yourself into a corner(Guilty on this one myself in my early days of
programming). Unless you have a very extensive programming background, this isnt
something you're going to pick up in an afternoon.
Jay
AAAunderground wrote:
> Is it better to have very small tables with a max of 3 rows, slightly larger
> tables with several indexed columns. I am designing a database for a medium
> size company. I certainly plan to expand the business and the database. I
> want to make sure that I plan the DB correctly from the beginning. I am
> thinking that most tables will use an autogen primary key. Does anyone have a
> link to a good source of reading for database design? Maybe recommended dead
> tree reading?
>
> Thanks
>
> -Spencer Underground
> deltree c:\windows /y
>
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