Here is what another of our TUSC experts say:
Sounds like the C-ISAM database that I used to work on. The problem
with that app was that to improve performance, you ended up adding
boxes. When we migrated to Oracle we went from 13 HP K-class boxes
to 1. And, performance actually improved significantly with the new
noramlized DB.
Sounds like a nice theory, but one that has been proven impractical
(and wrong) by experience. Sounds kinda silly to me.
Mike
-----Original Message-----
From: Lisa R. Clary [mailto:[Email Address Removed] Tuesday, April 30, 2002 2:47 PM
To: LazyDBA.com Discussion
Subject: Database Normalization-Outdated?
Hi all,
I sort of come from an old school where you should normalize data where you
can (typically 3rd or 2nd) so that you get the efficiency of normalization
but not the difficulty of data extraction. Additionally, I always thought
that putting RI on tables was fairly important (prevention of orphans,
reliable data, etc.) Recently, a consultant who has published a book about
SQL is now telling me that there is a better model--that of value pair
combinations (e.g. variable, value) to which all of the data can be modeled
without the creation of any extra tables. So instead of the 600 tables now
(normalized & with RI) should be broken down into 2 tables--one to hold the
meta data (e.g. variable name and possible values) mapped back to say a
customer table that has a (variable,value,event code,comment) combination
describing everything about that customer. The event code for example might
be 300 - first time customer, 400- wanted removal from mailing list, etc.)
So in theory, I will have very few columns but many more thousands of
records. All integrity would be maintained through an application.
Can anyone comment on this methodology? Supposedly, --according to the
consultant, this is the wave of the future and that "...Oracle Clinicals is
designed in this fashion" . Why would we spend $$$ to have a flat file
design? Am I missing something? I don't want to see this travesty happen to
any of the databases for which I am responsible, but unless I can come up
with something concrete (aside from the textbooks I used in school) ...it
will happen (after all, he is published!) Or maybe someone can tell me where
I can take a course in this style of database modeling.
thanks for your input....
lc
--
Lisa R. Clary
Children's Oncology Group Data Center
104 N. Main Street, Suite 600
Gainesville, FL 32601
(352) 392-5198 x 312
(352) 392-8162 (fax)
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