Elements of a Ideal Data Table and Fields - Database Development

Oracle, SQL

Database design requires attention to tables and the columns. The followings are the best practices for database design issue with tables and fields.  

Elements of the ideal table are:

• It represents a single subject, which can be an object or event.
• It has a primary key. (Determine this in a future exercise.)
• It does not contain multipart or multi-valued fields.
• It does not contain calculated fields.
• It does not contain unnecessary duplicate fields.
• It contains only an absolute minimum amount of redundant data.

Elements of the ideal field are:

• It represents a distinct characteristic of the subject of the table.
• It contains only a single value.
• It cannot be deconstructed into smaller components.
• It does not contain a calculated or concatenated value.
• It is unique with the entire database structure.
• It retains a majority of its properties when it appears in more than one table.

SQLGuy @ May 2, 2008