Re: quickie.. query from version 3 into version 4.1?
Erin ONeill wrote:
> I don't use phpMyAdmin but my programmers do (as
> well as a LOT of web programmers designing MySQL
> tables and databases). And for some reason every
> table they create tends to have the dreaded NOT
> NULL default junk. I may be moving more into the
Are you implying phpMyAdmin causes it?
> tables w/o thinking about the data. I keep driving
> the programmers crazy when I make them stop and
> tell me about the data and not the code. THey want
> to jump ahead to the code and I want to hear about
> the data. I guess that's what makes me a db person
> first and a programmer 2nd.
Well, I think it's a matter of perspective. A data-centered point of view tends lead to more robust applications, and a wider applicability of data. Usually, it takes more time to deliver some product, but in the long run it will probably proove benificial.
On the other hand, the data in itself is usually not important: it's what you do with the data, the processes that are dependant upon the data. Sometimes you need a product that offers functionality fast, and at such times it may be less important to have a good, everlasting data model. Of course, when such a 'quick and dirty' solution works out on the short term, you should invest into redesign. I guess, the trick is no so much to deliver a perfect data model, but to have some overview of what parts need to be redisgned, and in what time, and how this will impact running production applications. At least, that´s how I've experienced professional IT projects: a kind of iterative process, that tries to find a balance between delivering concrete, functional products whilst (re)designing datastructures with abstraction in mind.
>
> I've been following this thread you linked to.
> I've been watching closely but not playing with it
> at all. Tomorrow when I get in to work (and access
> to a MySQL db) I'll play with it a bit. I'm sure
Would be great, thanks in advance.
> Thanks for the push and the indepth data modeling
> discussion. I look forward to a number of replies
> from posters in this forum (esp you, jay pipes
> & felix). I guess it means I'm a geek when I'm
> reading it at nite. :)
Well i was reading this post to yesterday night (3 am over here), but was too sleepy to type a proper reply. CU, and have fun!
Roland