Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!munnari.oz.au!bunyip!lance!kirk!cameron
From: cameron@kirk.nmg.bu.oz (Cameron Stevenson)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: Database design
Message-ID: <1741@kirk.nmg.bu.oz>
Date: 17 Aug 90 19:07:04 GMT
Organization: Network Management Group, Bond University, Australia
Lines: 50

Before I start with this posting, I'd like to thank all those who helped
with my last one. I must say it was enlightening to receive so many responses
to a fairly simple question, and how helpful they all were. Makes you believe
in the goodness of human nature and all that stuff. Thanks once again...

Anyway, onto this one. What I'm interested in finding out are the relative
merits of different ways of designing the table structure within a RDBMS.
The choice is simple;

1. create a table which will have many records, and simplify the access to the
system by creating a number of views which present 'like' records to the users;

or

2. create a number of tables with essentially the same structure.

Some of the questions which require answers are:

1. what effect is there on performance with these two options?
2. what about data integrity (by this I mean, what happens when more than one
     person wants access to the data - will the system lock their table to
     prevent other access, or will the view only be locked)?
3. what is the effect on storage requirements (if any)?

To give a quick example of the sort of application I am talking about, let's 
look at a two column table for furniture:

CODE               DESCRIPTION
c1               chair type 1
c2               chair type 2
c3...
t1               table type 1
t2...
d1               desk type 1

As you can see, with the codes, it would be very easy to create a number of
views for (in this example) chairs, tables, and desks.

OR

Is it better to create a number of two column tables, for chairs, tables, and
desks?

This may seem like really basic stuff, and I apologise if the issue has been
discussed at length before, but (in most cases) this sort of question cannot be
answered by reading the manuals. Thanks in advance...

Cameron Stephenson                        Telephone    +61 75 951220
Bond University
Gold Coast    Australia