Re: My 10 Commandments of Database Administration...

  • From: Mark Richard <mrichard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: nsouto@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 13:46:02 +1000




Nuno,

If you don't mind me asking...

What value do you use to imply "this record does not have an end date yet -
it is current".  Do you insist on an additional attribute?  Use a
particularly large date?  I would have thought that from a design point of
view a NULL end date would mean "we have no idea when this record will be
end dated" and my main reason in the past for avoiding this related to
indexing (rightly, or wrongly - let's not enter that debate right now).

I guess a lot of people have the idea that a record which has started to be
effective, but has not ended (and has no planned end date) is best
described by leaving end date null since the record has no known end date.
I'm genuinely interested to hear your opinion on this because it's a
discussion I've entered on more than one occaision?

Regards,
      Mark.



                                                                                
                                                       
                      "Nuno Pinto do                                            
                                                       
                      Souto"                    To:       
<oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>                                                     
                      <nsouto@xxxxxxxxxx        cc:                             
                                                       
                      m.au>                     Subject:  Re: My 10 
Commandments of Database Administration...                         
                      Sent by:                                                  
                                                       
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                      23/09/2004 10:40                                          
                                                       
                      Please respond to                                         
                                                       
                      nsouto                                                    
                                                       
                                                                                
                                                       
                                                                                
                                                       




Quoting from AUTHOR ryan gaffuri:
> 11. Thou shalt feed me if I have to work late to fix something you
> broke.
>
> I'm a single guy...


Nuno's design corollary #1:

Thou shall not use end_date = NULL to mean "current row" of ANYTHING!
NULL has NO MEANING whatsoever: it does NOT mean "current"!

Under penalty of having to cook for Nuno (and I'm a heavy bloke)...





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