Re: [PHP] Web dev, DB and "proper db design".

On Jul 4, 2013, at 8:02 AM, Jim Giner <[email protected]> wrote:

> On 7/4/2013 6:42 AM, Richard Quadling wrote:
>> Hi.
>> 
>> I've just had a conversation regarding DB, foreign keys and their benefits.
>> 
>> I was told "I've never worked on a web application where foreign keys were
>> used in the database".
>> 
>> As someone who has spent 25 years working on accounting/epos systems on MS
>> SQL Server (yep, windows) and now in a web environment and hearing the
>> above, ... well, ... slightly concerned.
>> 
>> So, in the biggest broadest terms, what do you lot do?
>> 
>> DBs with no foreign keys (constrainted or not).
>> ORM builders with manual definition of relationships between the tables.
>> Inline SQL where you have to just remember all the relationships.
>> Views for simple lookups? How do you handle updatable views (does mysql
>> support them?)
>> etc.
>> 
>> Is there a difference in those in 'startups' and web only situations, or
>> those doing more traditional development (split that as you like - I'm just
>> trying to get an understanding and not go off on one!).
>> 
>> No definitive answers, and I hope I get some wide experiences here.
>> 
>> Thanks for looking.
>> 
>> Richard.
>> 
> I"m going to guess that your source of such drivel never learned about such things.  Probably thinks that a 'key' has to be defined as such in the db, whereas we know what a FK really is.
> 
> Don't worry.  As a former big iron guy and then a c/s guy and now a (new) web guy, things haven't changed.
> 
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So, like Jim, I'm just going to speculate your correspondent has never actually designed anything very interesting. I can't really imagine how one does not use foreign keys, unless one does the entire relationship mapping between tables in the source… what a waste that would be.