Re: How many fields in a table are too many

Hi Mark,

actually there is a simple way to determine this.

create an entity relationship model, try to build a 3rd normal form,
look on what the users/customers are really doing, not only what data
they are dealing with and finally break up the 3rd NF again.

A table with too many columns is as bad as a database with too many
tables. If you can't keep the overview, something went wrong.
Sometimes you can tune the database by tuning the datastructure.

It's good if you end up with tables that only have a few columns. But
why not twenty, if you need them, it's ok. But if you have significantly
more than this number, you should have a good reason, than it's ok as well.

What I think is more important, is that you have a tight look on the
nature of your data. Treat a number like a number and a date like a date.

Ciao, Toni

MT wrote:

>Hi,
>
>Just a quick question, not unrelated to my previous question, which I don't think will get answered. I have a table with 13 fields. Is that too many fields for one table.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Mark
>
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