Database Design Principles: The Truth is Out There
This article delves into the core principles of database design, highlighting their importance in accurately reflecting business reality. The author criticizes the lack of formal training in database design among software developers, leading to widespread use of ad-hoc methods and resulting data anomalies and inconsistencies. Several database design principles are listed, including the Principle of Orthogonal Design, Principle of Expressive Completeness, and Principle of Full Normalization. The author introduces a new principle, the Principle of Essential Denotation, emphasizing the use of natural keys to identify relations and avoid the semantic disconnect caused by surrogate keys. Using SQL code examples, the author demonstrates how adhering to these principles avoids the high cost of poor design, ultimately building accurate and reliable information systems.
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