| contact mechanisms and addresses [message #90774] |
Thu, 18 November 2004 09:52  |
emsdba
Messages: 1
Registered: November 2004
|
Junior Member |
|
|
I have a basic modeling question. I wanted to get some opinions on whether you would consider an Address a subtype of a Contact Mechanism (along with Phone Numbers, Email Address, etc), or a separate entity.
I have seen it modeling both ways, and see reasons for both. I am not able to clearly determine my own preference, so I was hoping for some experts to 'sell' me on the better approach.
Looking forward to the responses!
|
|
|
|
| Re: contact mechanisms and addresses [message #90775 is a reply to message #90774] |
Thu, 18 November 2004 12:33  |
andrew again
Messages: 2577
Registered: March 2000
|
Senior Member |
|
|
I'd say it depends on what fits your requirements best. For a simple application which has fairly static business rules in terms of Addresses and Contact details, keeping the entities separate has the advantage of easier understanding of the data model and easier access to the data (ad-hoc query tools, sqlplus etc). Having physical separate tables may also give you more control over RI constraints which are far better than app based integrity logic or triggers (numerous examples exist to demonstrate this).
Personally I'd opt to keep things as simple as possible and I'd avoid the generic modeling approach...
|
|
|
|
] 
Blog
Search
Help
Members
Register
Login
Home
