Re: linked tables Access <---> PG 7.4.1

--- Andreas <maps(dot)on(at)gmx(dot)net> wrote:
> Hi,
> I fear this might be off-topic but I'm sure I'd be
> hit, too, if I asked
> something concerning the interaction with PostgreSQL
> on the dark side. ;)

Really an Access question, rather than a PostgreSQL
question, but I'm sure we don't mind ;-)

>
> Client: MS-Access 2000
> Server: PG 7.4.1
>
> I ODBC-link some tables and all is fine.
> Then I manually link a PostgreSQL-view and Access
> asks which of the
> fields will be the primary key of this "table".
>
> Then again, if I link the view with VBA's DAO
> command
> CurrentDB.CreateTableDef( [...] ) no question
> appears and the view gets
> created as a table-object.
> If I inspect it's design, there is no field marked
> as primary key.
>
> Is the PK really obsolete or does it have
> implications in the
> performance of Access or PG ?

AFAIK it only matters if you are inserting(?) or
updating records, which you are probably not doing in
the case of a view. When processing updates, for
example, Access will select the record back from the
database: the primary key will be used in the select,
if there is one, otherwise the select will use an
equality condition on every field for the select. I
find that Access is happier if there is a single key
field in every table, even if one has to be created
for that purpose.

Probably others can elaborate on this. One of the
reasons I use Access is that I don't have to worry too
much about implementation details ;-)

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