This might be a bit off-topic, but I'm curious what folks would do with this
situation:
I have about 6 different tab-delimited file types, all of which store
similar information (microarray gene expression). However, the files come
from different manufacturers, so each has slightly different fields with
different meanings. However, there are a few columns that are shared. I
may need to add table formats in the future (as we get more manufacturers).
I can think of at least three ways to go about storing these data:
1) Create a single table that has as many columns as needed for ALL formats
and make manufacturer-specific views, naming columns in the view as
appropriate. Then put rules on the view for inserts, updates, etc. This is
my first choice, I think, but adding a new manufacturer's format means
creating a new view and possibly adding columns; some columns may NULL for
large portions of the table.
2) Use postgres inheritance, but even shared columns in our data may have
different names depending on the manufacturer, so there may be views
involved anyway.
3) Use a fully-normalized strategy that stacks each column into one very
long table--this would be my last choice.
Thanks for any insight.
(For replies, please try to reply to me directly as well as the list as I
just get digests right now).
Thanks,
Sean
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