RE: DDL Files - Tables and keys

["Walden H. Leverich" <WaldenL@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> unless there is a specific reason to use a PRIMARY key, which I
>  believe is the only key you can add to a table....correct?  

Why would you not want a PK? While I believe you can do a FK relation on
a unique index, generally speaking they're on the PK. I can't imagine
any reason you'd want to define a table that didn't have a unique
primary key. If there's not one in the business domain add a surrogate
key (personally I'd use them all the time, but that's a different
discussion)

If you're doing all your IO via SQL don't let the programmers dictate
indexes either, that's the domain of a DBA. Now, programmers tend to be
intelligent, and they're free to _recommend_ a new index, but their SQL
will work w/out any indexes (just not quickly) so they never _need_ an
index. This is especially true if they want an index because they want
the data in a given order. An index on lastname may be of no use even if
the order by is lastname. SQL may decide it's faster to just sort the
result set. 

-Walden

--
Walden H Leverich III
Tech Software
(516) 627-3800 x3051
WaldenL@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.TechSoftInc.com

Quiquid latine dictum sit altum viditur.
(Whatever is said in Latin seems profound.)