Re: IS it a good practice to use SERIAL as Primary Key?

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On 11/27/06 13:37, Scott Ribe wrote:
>> In the real world,
>> data changes, even supposedly unchangeable data.
>
> And that's the crux of it. All of the "that design is wrong" arguments in
> the world won't stop data that has been constant & unique for decades from
> changing when some manager, rightly or wrongly, sees a "business need" for
> it. User-provided data can never, ever be counted on to forever and always
> have the attributes (uniqueness, stability, whatever) described by the
> users, no matter how many times you are reassured on the subject. The data
> will very often behave exactly as described, but to base a database design
> on that assumption is to create a brittle design--as you described.

If I base a master sales table on account_number and date/time, then
every CPA in the country will descend on me with calculators
sharpened if I decide to update the SALE_DATE column.

- --
Ron Johnson, Jr.
Jefferson LA USA

Is "common sense" really valid?
For example, it is "common sense" to white-power racists that
whites are superior to blacks, and that those with brown skins
are mud people.
However, that "common sense" is obviously wrong.
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