string PK vs. interger PK

From: Jodi Kanter <jkanter(at)virginia(dot)edu>
To: Postgres Admin List <pgsql-admin(at)postgresql(dot)org>
Subject: string PK vs. interger PK
Date: 2002-04-15 18:56:20
Message-ID: 019201c1e4af$3b855c90$de138f80@virginia.edu
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Can anyone offer some insight as to what should be considered when choosing between a primary key that is an integer vs. a primary key that is a string value? Does one or the other affect indexing speed? update speed?
Is a serial integer value better than using a PK that has some "value" in its meaning but is a string?
Thanks
Jodi
_______________________________
Jodi L Kanter
BioInformatics Database Administrator
University of Virginia
(434) 924-2846
jkanter(at)virginia(dot)edu

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