Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!hao!ames!pacbell!att-ih!ihnp4!inuxc!iuvax!pur-ee!pur-phy!mrstve!mdbs!greg
From: greg@mdbs.UUCP (Greg Feldman)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: Re: referential integrity
Message-ID: <864@mdbs.UUCP>
Date: 11 Mar 88 22:47:10 GMT
Reply-To: greg@mdbs.UUCP (Greg Feldman)
Distribution: na
Organization: Micro Database Systems, Inc., Lafayette IN
Lines: 37


>
>>From: DMasterson@cup.portal.com
>Newsgroups: comp.databases
>Subject: Re: Informix 4GL Question?
>In message <1320@polyslo.UUCP> lchirica@polyslo.UUCP writes:
>>In article <2314@geac.UUCP> daveb@geac.UUCP (David Collier-Brown) writes:
>>>In article <714@uel.uel.co.uk> andrew@uel.uel.co.uk (Andrew Josey) writes:
>>>>When deleting records in my database I check whether they are
>>>>referenced by any other records. This is currently done by code
>>>>similar to the following :
	^^^^^
	I contend this is the DBMS's job.

>
>>TO THE NET PEOPLE:  Does anyone know what other DBMSs support
>>referential integrity?
>>
MDBSIII supports referential integrity.  Deleting (or updating)
a record (tuple) will AUTOMATICALLY maintain all relationships
referencing that record.  It will NOT delete (cascade) any other
records.  However, it will dynamically maintain all indexes, so
no need to run a data base re-organize program.

MDBSIII can do this because there is no redundancy in a properly 
designed schema.  So, rather than having to run around the data
base looking for potential anamolies, all references to that data
are explicitly connected to that particular record.  As a result,
referential integrity can be had by the DBMS software, not the
application program.

#include ".signature"
Greg Feldman--MDBS  (317) 448-6187

UUCP:	{rutgers,ihnp4,decvax,ucbvax}!pur-ee!mdbs!support

Note:  "These are my opinions, so if anyone asks, I didn't do it!"