Re:Maybe Normalizing Isn't Normal
by edw519 on Tuesday July 15, 2008 @08:19AM
(#246587)
Normalization is not an either/or proposition.
You can have one table, normalize all the way 4th normal form, or stop anywhere in between, depending on the requirements of your app. You can use multi-values within fields to simplify your schema. You can also write your own processes to extract data, without using just pure SQL.
There's more than one way to do things, all with pros and cons. Naturally, in the early phases of your project, you're probably best off insuring the integrity of your data (that is, normalize) and worry about scaling later.
You can have one table, normalize all the way 4th normal form, or stop anywhere in between, depending on the requirements of your app. You can use multi-values within fields to simplify your schema. You can also write your own processes to extract data, without using just pure SQL.
There's more than one way to do things, all with pros and cons. Naturally, in the early phases of your project, you're probably best off insuring the integrity of your data (that is, normalize) and worry about scaling later.