Re: Surrogate Key vs Production Key

"Howard J. Rogers" <hjr_at_dizwell.com> wrote in message news:<4172c779$0$10345$afc38c87_at_news.optusnet.com.au>...

> Yes, you come across that way. You don't do it very often, but on one or two
> topics, when the mood takes you, you come across as seriously aggressive.

If that is so, my sincere apologies. Certainly not my intention.

> Take that as you wish. But preferably don't get defensive about it, since
> it's intended as an alert, not a criticism.

Hang on, I'm confused now: am I "defensive", or "aggresive"? I can't be both... Or maybe I can? <g,d&r>

> were used to describe software and data. Not people or their attitudes. And
> the fact that software is or is not poorly written, or sloppily written, or
> used badly, resulting in rubbish data, bears not a whit on whether you are
> coming across as "heated".

I'm sorry, but I don't think classifying a technique the entire application industry follows as "sloppy" or "rubbish" has got a place in a discussion about design techniques. And I certainly would have vanished a long time ago if my approach to IT ignored what the industry is doing.

The way I see it, is: if one theory says "do A" and the entire industry follows another that says "do B", then I'm sorry but the industry is right and the first theory is unusable for all intents and purposes. Other than very special fields of application. Regardless of the merits of one or the other.

That is why we evolved from hierarchical databases to relational: nothing fundamentally wrong with hierarchical and it still has its place. But the entire industry went another way. You should have heard how many times the hierarchical camp called the relational one "sloppy" and "rubbish"...

> *I'm* not being self-righteous about it. I'm just telling you my
> *experience*. Which is indicative only of my experience.

I wasn't talking about my experience either: that is highly subjective. Just pointing out a simple , obvious and well known fact that is continually ignored by the "natural key" camp. If there is one thing I'll never be guilty of is ignoring what the majority of the industry does!
(no matter how much I prefer OS2 and Unix to Windows, I have to use the latter....) Received on Tue Oct 19 2004 - 07:00:49 CDT