Questions tagged [database-design]
For questions about structuring the data within a database. How to lay out tables, whether to use a relational DB or not, etc.
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Is it a bad practice to store large files (10 MB) in a database?
I am currently creating a web application that allows users to store and share files, 1 MB - 10 MB in size.
It seems to me that storing the files in a database will significantly slow down ...
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Storing a re-orderable list in a database
I'm working on a wishlist system, where users can add items to their various wishlists, and I plan to allow users to re-order the items later on. I am not really sure about the best way to go about ...
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Is it ever okay to use lists in a relational database?
I've been trying to design a database to go with a project concept and ran into what seems like a hotly debated issue. I've read a few articles and some Stack Overflow answers that state it's ...
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Why would you store an enum in DB?
I've seen a number of questions, like this, asking for advice on how to store enums in DB. But I wonder why would you do that. So let's say that I have an entity Person with a gender field, and a ...
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EAV - is it really bad in all scenarios?
I'm thinking to use an entity-attribute-value (EAV) model for some of the stuff in one of the projects, but all questions about it in Stack Overflow end up to answers calling EAV an anti-pattern.
But ...
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Code First vs. Database First
When I design and create the software I work on, I typically design and create the back-end SQL tables first and then move on to the actual programming. The project I'm currently working on has me ...
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Configuration data: single-row table vs. name-value-pair table
Let's say you write an application that can be configured by the user. For storing this "configuration data" into a database, two patterns are commonly used.
The single-row table
CompanyName | ...
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Is it wasteful to create a new database table instead of using enum data type?
Suppose I have 4 types of services I offer (they are unlikely to change often):
Testing
Design
Programming
Other
Suppose I have 60-80 of actual services that each fall into one of the above ...
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When would you use a long, string ID instead of a simple integer? [closed]
I'd like to use Youtube as an example: they use IDs in the form of PEckzwggd78.
Why don't they use simple integers?
Or imgur.com - they also use IDs such as 9b6tMZS for images and galleries. Not ...
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Is it premature optimization to add database indices?
A colleague of mine today suggested that we go through all of the queries in our application and to add indices accordingly.
I feel this is premature optimisation because our application is not even ...
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Why is using MySQL for a dictionary website a bad idea?
I'm planning to design and set up a database to store dictionary entries (usually single words) and their meaning in another language. So, for example, the table Glossary must have entry and ...
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Is the use of NoSQL Databases impractical for large datasets where you need to search by content?
I've been learning about NoSQL Databases for a week now.
I really understand the advantages of NoSQL Databases and the many use cases they are great for.
But often people write their articles as if ...
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What happened to database constraints?
When I review database models for RDBMS, I'm usually surprised to find little to no constraints (aside PK/FK). For instance, percentage is often stored in a column of type int (while tinyint would be ...
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Is it necessary to create a database with as few tables as possible
Should we create a database structure with a minimum number of tables?
Should it be designed in a way that everything stays in one place or is it okay to have more tables?
Will it in anyway affect ...
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Is denormalising a database for speed an anti-pattern?
I have a database with a 1:m relationship.
I have to display a list of parents to the user rapidly on a home screen at startup. The parent shows a single piece of information that is a sum of a ...
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